Large storms with snow and ice may be on the horizon for next week

Changes in the jet stream could cause stronger, more widespread storms to move from the Rockies into the Plains and east during the fourth week of the month. Larger storms have the potential to bring plowable snow, damaging ice and serious travel issues.

Weather-related travel disruptions are possible through next week in the Midwest and Northeast due to a speedboat storm and Wednesday’s snowfall.

The jet stream creates a large southward dip over the eastern United States, helping to stretch the polar vortex.

“While the cold from this setup will ebb and flow, it will generally linger into the new week,” AccuWeather senior remote meteorologist Joe Lundberg said.

The jet stream pattern that guides storms and cold air is expected to change for a period of time next week.

“The jet stream will take on a more west-to-east pattern in the middle to late next week,” Lundberg said. “That could provide temporary relief from the worst of the cold weather, but it could also allow a storm or two to spread ice and snow over a wide swath of the central and eastern states.”

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The cold air moving behind these storms will keep temperatures as low as the last week of January in the northern Plains into the Northeast. Any snow or ice that does occur will likely linger in the cold weather for some time.

The weather pattern is likely to continue across much of the country this weekend and may intensify through much of February.

“Our long-term forecast for February shows temperatures will be below average across much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States, with the largest deviations from normal in the Midwest,” Lundberg said. “For areas west of the Rockies, temperatures will be above historical averages, with the largest changes in temperatures in the Southwest.”

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