WARM/WET in the West, COLD/SNOWY in the East...

[AnthonyC]

Big pattern shift this weekend. After two weeks of below normal temperatures in the Pacific Northwest, above average precipitation in California, and record warm throughout a majority of the East and Southeast, expect a BIG pattern change this weekend....well, it's already in progress. It's been an interesting transition in Seattle/Portland...we've experienced snow/sleet/freezing rain all day. And parts of the midwest and central plains are already feeling the arctic cold that has been nonexistant a majority of the winter.

The Northeast will feel the brunt of the pattern change from now till the foreseeable future. Pay close attention to the arctic outbreak by the end of the week...latest GFS models bring 850 mb heights down to -30C. The extreme Southeast...southern Georgia, Alabama, Florida...will escape the big pattern change, although they'll notice the cooler/wetter weather.

As for the west, California will finally dry out as a big ridge of high pressure parks itself off the coast for at least the next 10 days. The Pacific Northwest...although considerably warmer...will encounter tremendous rain and a possible Pineapple Express. This is not good considering the snowpack in the Cascades is a complete joke.

And although the Central Plains are experiencing brutal arctic air for the moment, they'll return to seasonal averages very soon...and then go above normal once again.

How long will this pattern last? For at least the next 10 days...particularly in the Northeast. Latest guidance suggests another negative PNA phase by the end of January, beginning of February which would again shift the weather pattern, but it's too early to tell. For people in the Northeast...enjoy the brutal cold/winter weather you will be experiencing in the coming days.

Anthony