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scienceJan 2, 20267:06

More wintry trouble ahead for Upper Midwest while heavy rain will raise the flooding risk in Northern California

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As cold keeps its grip in the northeastern part of the United States, rounds of snow will continue to cause travel problems in portions of a dozen states into early next week. Also, big rain is poised to renew flash flooding in Northern California in the coming days. As freezing levels plunge and feet of snow pile up in the high country, travel over Donner Pass, California, may shut down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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More wintry trouble ahead for Upper Midwest while heavy rain will raise the flooding risk in Northern California

AccuWeather Daily

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Full transcript

AccuWeather DailyMore wintry trouble ahead for Upper Midwest while heavy rain will raise the flooding risk in Northern California. Machine-transcribed; use the interactive transcript above to jump the player to any line.

From AccuWeather.com, this is AccuWeather Daily, a brief host read article, its weather news, and a nutshell. This episode is brought to you by Factor. Get out of your meal run with Factor and kickstart your healthy eating journey. Factor makes it easy with 100 rotating weekly meals designed by dietitians and crafted by chefs. These meals are delicious and super easy to grab and eat because they're ready in about two minutes. There's tons of meal options too, from high protein to calorie smart, Mediterranean diet options, GLP1 support, ready to eat salads, and more. For me, I'm just looking for a little variety throughout the week. So I recently tried Factor's queso, fendido, and ground beef. In two minutes, it was ready, and what I wasn't expecting was the flavor explosion I got. The queso was rich and creamy. The nicely seasoned ground beef, a perfect complement. But don't just take it from me, try Factor for yourself. Go to FactorMeals.com slash AccuWeather50All and use code AccuWeather50All to get 50% off and

free breakfast for a year. Eat like a pro this month with Factor. New subscribers only, very spy plan. One free breakfast item per box for one year while subscription is active. More wintry trouble is on the way for the upper Midwest and the Northeast, while heavy rain in the western parts of the U.S. will raise the flooding risk in Northern California. I'll cover both of those weather events in the next few minutes. So let's start with the parade of clipper storms and frigid air marching in from Canada. This line of storms will continue to cause wintry woes for travelers from the Great Lakes region to parts of the Northeast through this weekend and into Monday. The persistent cold through the weekend and rounds of snow will put a smile on skiersfaces. Many areas from the upper Midwest to the interior Northeast will receive a new round of snow every 24 hours or less. That storm's steady snow will tend to dwindle as it rolls across the Northeast through Friday morning, but there will be enough to bring a fresh coating on some roads from

Southern Michigan and Ohio to West Virginia, Western Maryland, Western and Central Pennsylvania, upstate New York and interior New England. As has been the case with many of these clipper storms so far, the Great Lakes will enhance the snow a bit and the lake effect will be energized in the wake of the clipper storm. Following the clipper that exits the Northeast on Friday, yet another clipper will be hot on its heels. That quick moving storm with its mainly light snow will extend from Northern and Central Michigan on Saturday to upstate New York, Northern Pennsylvania and much of New England during Saturday night. Most of the snow in this zone will range from a coating to an inch with up to two inches in a few locations, however, once again, moisture from the Great Lakes can bring several inches near the shores from Lake Superior to Lake's Erie and Ontario. Bands of lake effects snow will kick up from later Saturday to early Sunday, mainly over

the Northern and Eastern Lakes. In what should be the last clipper storm in the series before a pattern change takes place next week, a somewhat larger storm and precipitation shield will unfold from Sunday afternoon through early Monday around the Upper Midwest and in the Northeast through Monday night. This particular storm and its snow and ice will ride ahead of a push of warmer air over the plains and less cold air in the Northeast. Enough snow will fall from Northern Minnesota to Michigan and onto upstate New York, Northern Pennsylvania and New England to make a new round of slippery roads and the zone from Northern Minnesota to Southern Wisconsin and possibly northeastern Illinois. A brief period of freezing rain may glaze some surfaces Saturday afternoon. It is possible some locations in eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey receive the same on Monday. Conditions may be slippery enough to prompt school delays and cancellations in some cases.

Beyond early next week, a dip in the jet stream in the Northeast, which has been responsible for the waves of Arctic air, will retreat into Canada. Now, as that happens, air from the Pacific will move in, bringing with its temperatures near to above the historical average. Shifting focus to the West Coast now, low elevation rain will spread across much of the Western U.S., bringing the highest flooding risk and travel disruptions to Northern California, as falling snow levels threaten mountain pass closures. The first volley of heavy rain drenched SoCal earlier this week, there will be a break in the rain for much of California on Friday, while pockets of rain in high-country snow drift through the northwest states, the interior deserts and inter-mountain west. The rain through Friday will occur with the main storm hovering well offshore over the Pacific. Then, as the storm pushes east this weekend to early next week, the intensity of the rain will increase and focus on Northern and Central California. An atmospheric river may form

further enhancing the rain with the potential for wide spread flash flooding and mudslides. Much of the rain may stay north of San Diego, LA, and northwest of Las Vegas from Friday through Saturday night with some spotty showers. On Sunday, steadier rain will begin to approach from the West. A general two to four inches of rain is forecast to fall, with locally higher amounts from Friday night into Monday evening, along much of the California coast, north of LA. Along the lower west facing slopes of the Northern Sierra Nevada, four to eight inches of rain is forecast with an acuether local storm max of up to 12 inches. Even much of California's central valley will receive a soaking rain with one to two inches in store for Sacramento. Upcoming heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada and perhaps the Siskiyu mountains in Northern California could lead to major travel disruptions there. Snow levels will begin to lower over the mountains of Northern California from Saturday night into Monday. As that occurs, the snow will

pile up in the high country, but will work down to the passes and some of the intermediate elevations. Acuethers' William Clark said by early next week, snow levels may dip to 4,500 feet in the Northern Sierra Nevada. This would correlate to a long stretch of wintry conditions along interstate 80 and the higher elevations of the mountain range, with several feet of snow possible over Donner Pass. Snow of this magnitude may be nearly impossible for crews to keep up with and Donner Pass is likely to close for a period of time. Snow levels will drop in the Washington and Oregon Cascades, but precipitation is expected to be lighter. Road crews should be able to manage slushy and slippery conditions, including over Snow Kwame Pass along interstate 90 in Washington. Another dose of heavy rain may shift across Southern California from Monday into Tuesday. That's all for now. You can find more regional forecasts and science-based articles at acuethers.com and for your local forecast at your fingertips,

download the Acuether app. Enjoy the rest of your day. Be safe. I'll be back tomorrow with more from Acuether. Rinse knows that greatness takes time, but soda's laundry. So rinse will take your laundry and hand-deliver it to your door expertly cleaned, and you can take the time pursuing your passions. Time one spent sorting and waiting, folding and queuing, now spent challenging and innovating and pushing your way to greatness. So pick up the Irish flute or those calligraphy pens or that daunting beef Wellington recipe card and leave the laundry to us. Rinse, it's time to be great.

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