A nationwide split dumping winter snow across eastern states while the west bakes in 100F heat is about to whip up a fresh batch of vicious storms.
Plunging jet stream winds opening the doors to bitter gusts from the Arctic will clash with surging warmth from the gulf of Mexico creating a weather battle zone.
Temperatures in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona will rocket into the 100Fs ahead of the weekend while northeastern states brace for a foot of snow.
Where the two systems lock horns, volatile conditions will unleash torrential downpours, hail and the threat of tornadoes.
Where the two systems lock horns, volatile conditions will unleash torrential downpours, hail and the threat of tornadoes
WXCHARTS
Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services, said: “Temperatures in Texas are heading towards 40C, and this increased heat will allow for very heavy rainfall which could lead to record flooding again in parts of the country.
“This is a classic set up, building heat in the south coming in from the Gulf of Mexico and colder air to the north, and where they meet the ingredients are there for powerful storms.
“Air coming up from the south will also contain a lot of humidity, and this is going to bring more volatility and the risk of storms and possibly tornadoes.”
America has over the past 10 days battled some of the worst floods in a generation as torrential and persistent downpours swept in from the Caribbean.
The cost of cleanup from ‘catastrophic flooding and devastating tornadoes’ is expected run into the tens of billions of dollars.
Another storm gearing up to plough through the region ahead of the weekend threatens to heap further misery.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Temperatures soar to the south, and plunge to the north
Weather.us
Dale said: “There is another system coming through towards the end of the week, and this is going to add to the grief. This will bring more rain and the threat of flooding.”
The US National Weather Service (NOAA) has ‘winter freeze’ warnings in force across eastern states while to the west, warnings cover the danger of wildfires.
Around 10 states including Texas, Illinois, Kentucky and Alabama are under separate flood warnings as rivers reach breaking point.
A NOAA spokesman said: “The Storm Prediction Center has a Marginal Risk for hazards of hail and gusty winds with an area of low pressure located along a front moving across the Eastern Seaboard which will deepen and bring blustery and wet conditions into the weekend.
“Across Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, temperatures will be warm to hot, and highs in the upper 90Fs or even low 100Fs will be common in the Desert Southwest.”
Storms have featured heavily in the US forecasts through the start of spring with up to 16 inches of rain triggering devastating floods.
Storms continue to sweep through
WXCHARTS
Some 90 tornado reports since the start of the month have registered violent twisters with winds touching 140mph.
Violent winds have hurled giant hailstones measuring more than three inches across, bigger than golf balls.
The cost of the storms, worsened by a freak east-coast atmospheric river, is thought to hit 90 billion dollars.
AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter said: “A rare atmospheric river continually resupplying a firehose of deep tropical moisture into the central US, combined with a series of storms traversing the same area in rapid succession, created a “perfect storm” for catastrophic flooding and devastating tornadoes.
“Our preliminary estimate of total damage and economic loss of $80 billion to $90 billion accounts for damage to homes and businesses, disruptions to commerce and supply chain logistics, impacts to shipping operations at major hubs, financial losses from extended power outages, major travel delays, as well as damage to infrastructure.”
