AccuWeather: Monstrous storm could bring tornadoes, blizzard conditions to central US next week
A much more dynamic and volatile weather pattern is looming for the United States as the atmosphere begins to shift gears following a quieter start to December. By early next week, numerous small, weak disturbances will be replaced by one massive storm that could wreak havoc on cross-country travel as well as pose a significant threat to lives and property, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
"The stage is being set for extreme weather conditions over the U.S. next week, especially for the middle of the nation," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. This week's weather will feature impacts from a series of weak storms that will deliver drenching rain from the south-central region to the Atlantic coast and stripes of snow from the Rockies to the Upper Midwest and interior Northeast.
One of the foundational pieces of next week's storm was located thousands of miles west of North America on Wednesday. A large storm loaded with moisture over the northern Pacific was forecast to swing toward Alaska late this week then southeastward toward the western United States this weekend.
From this weekend to next week, the jet stream will change from its current nearly west-to-east configuration to a very convoluted setup that favors at least one major storm.
The first phase of that storm will unfold this weekend, as it brings a substantial amount of rain to coastal areas and lower elevations and mountain snow to the Pacific coast. As the storm then moves across the Rockies, it will remain potent before it eventually reorganizes into a monstrous system by early next week over the Great Plains and Mississippi Valley.