AccuWeather forecasters say energy from the same storm slamming the West Coast with heavy rainfall and feet of mountain snow will translate eastward by midweek and usher in another round of adverse weather to the center of the country. Rain and snow are forecast to target northern areas, while a large swath of strong winds will be in play across much of the central United States.
A new storm is forecast to develop on Wednesday after potent energy ejects out of the Rockies and into the Plains. This storm will first come together over the central Plains early Wednesday and strengthen throughout the day while tracking to the northeast.
The first, and most-widespread impact from this midweek storm will be strong to potentially damaging wind gusts. By Wednesday afternoon, strong wind gusts will stretch from the southern Rockies to the Upper Midwest, an area of over 1,200 miles across the center of the country.
"Wind gusts of around 50 mph could impact cities such as Milwaukee and Chicago at midweek, which may cause some sporadic power outages as well as cause some minor tree damage," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski cautioned.
Winds will be even stronger farther west from New Mexico to Nebraska where gusts of 60-70 mph are likely. Any high-profile vehicles traveling along portions of interstates 70 and 80 may need to take extra precautions on Wednesday as the risk for roll-overs will increase as winds strengthen.
"The highest wind gusts will be located at the Front Range of the Rockies in Colorado with an AccuWeather Local StormMax&trade of 120 mph," AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo said.
By Thursday, gusty winds will translate even farther east and reach into places like Indianapolis and Detroit.
In addition to strong winds, as the storm makes its way across the Plains and into the Upper Midwest, Old Man Winter may make another appearance.
"The storm will have the potential to bring a swath of snow to parts of the Upper Midwest and northern Plains by Wednesday night into Thursday," Pydynowski said.
While forecasters say it is unlikely any snowfall will approach the impressive amounts recorded at the end of last week, any accumulating snow can still lead to some issues for residents and potential delays for travelers across the area.
However, some areas that were just hit hardest by snow to end last week may miss out on snow entirely this week.
"Areas around Minneapolis that recently recorded nearly 2 feet of snow will likely be on the warm side of the storm and just see some rain instead," Pydynowski explained.
Even a rumble of thunder around the Twin Cities area is not completely out of the question as unseasonable warmth builds across portions of the Plains and East.
"Minneapolis will even approach its record high temperature of 51 degrees Fahrenheit from 2014 on Wednesday afternoon," Pydynowski added.
In addition, forecasters are closely monitoring the potential for rain and thunderstorms to return to some of the same areas that were impacted by a historic tornado outbreak on Friday night.
By Thursday, the strengthening storm and the worst of its impacts will exit the United States and push into Ontario, Canada.
