Streaks of Mostly Snow Across North This Week

In the Midwest, a clipper moved through over the weekend, bringing a band of moderate to heavy snow across Iowa, northern Illinois, and into the southern Great Lakes. More clippers will move through over the week with streaks of snow, with Wisconsin and Michigan being targets for some heavy snow Tuesday into Wednesday. Cold air rushing in behind that system will lead to areas of lake-effect snow. More heavy snow will be possible farther south on Thursday and Friday, though models are still working that out. The snowpack is expansive for early December, but some melting may occur this week, helping to increase soil moisture.

In the Northern Plains, a clipper went through on Friday and Saturday with some moderate snow. Several clippers will move through this week with almost daily snow but also some strong winds and bursts of very cold air as well. The snowpack is increasing quickly in the region this winter, a good sign for boosting soil moisture next spring.

In the Central and Southern Plains, a system went through on Saturday, but very little precipitation occurred in the region. The storm track will be off to the north this week and the likelihood for precipitation is rather low. Soil moisture is falling over some southern areas, a concern over the winter if La Nina indeed keeps precipitation chances low this winter.

In the Delta, some showers went through over the weekend, and heavy rain fell across Louisiana, boosting soil moisture there. Otherwise, the region has remained drier than normal and soil moisture is low. Water levels on the Mississippi River are falling again as well. Limited snowmelt over the Midwest may help that to some degree this week, however, but the region needs more rain.

In the Southeast, scattered showers went through over the weekend and heavy rain fell across the Gulf Coast and northern Florida. That was sorely needed to reduce drought, but it will take much more rain to do so. Showers exit on Monday and drier weather is forecast for the rest of the week.

In the Western U.S., scattered showers fell across northern areas over the weekend and continue there through most of the week as several small, quick-hitting systems move through. That should help to build snowpack in the mountains and lower drought in the valleys. Farther south, though fall weather was very wet and helped to reduce drought, the winter has already become much drier, which is forecast to continue. Soil moisture will be falling and snowpack is expected to fall with some warmer temperatures as well.

John Baranick can be reached at john.baranick@dtn.com