Record-high temperatures, cross-country storm forecast this holiday weekend
Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on December 23, 2023
(NEW YORK) — Record-high temperatures are possible this holiday weekend with temperatures in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota forecast to reach the 40s and 50s.
On Sunday — Christmas Eve — records may be broken in some places, like Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the record high is 46 degrees from 1957 and the forecast high this year is nearly 10 degrees higher than that record, in the middle 50s.
Other places like Duluth, Minnesota; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, may break high temperature records as well.
On Christmas Day, Green Bay will be near a record-high with temperatures nearing 50 degrees.
Cross-country storm may bring flooding to South and heavy snow to Plains
Saturday morning, one system is beginning its end — there is rain around the Great Lakes and that will lead to some snow for upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire later Saturday and on Sunday. The next cross-country storm is already bringing snow to the Rockies and rain to the Desert Southwest.
On Saturday, rain will spread into the Great Plains and, by the end of the day, rain will span from the Dakotas to Texas. Saturday night and into Sunday morning, flooding is possible in parts of Texas, including Dallas and Houston.
Through the holiday weekend this flood threat will push east through the South.
On Sunday, that flood threat will span Missouri to Mississippi, including the entire state of Louisiana. The threat will continue into the night.
On Christmas morning, Florida’s panhandle will be under the flood threat. Heavy rain will span into Georgia as well, and into South Carolina through the day. Total rainfall accumulation across the Gulf Coast is expected to be 2 to 3 inches with some local area seeing 4 to 5 inches.
On the back side of the storm, across the plains of South Dakota and Nebraska, heavy snow is possible. Snow accumulations may total 6 to 12 inches, or more, in parts of Nebraska and South Dakota by the end of Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, there may be ice issues in Northern Minnesota.
The rain for this cross-country storm will reach the East Coast on Tuesday and the Northeast later Tuesday and through Wednesday.
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