In the West, the fourth in series of Pacific storms is producing another round of rain and snow in northern and central California. While summer water-supply prospects are favorable in much of the West, California and the Great Basin remain at risk for completing a third consecutive year of drought.
On the Plains, snow in Nebraska and neighboring areas is benefiting winter wheat but causing some travel disruptions. Meanwhile, on the southern Plains, warm weather is causing drought-stressed wheat to lose its winter hardiness.
In the Corn Belt, rain and snow showers are spreading into parts of the Missouri Valley, while mild, dry weather prevails across central and eastern portions of the region. Lowland flooding lingers in a few Midwestern river basins due to ice jams and runoff from recent rainfall and melting snow.
In the South, warm, dry weather favors spring planting preparations and other early-season fieldwork. Outlook: A storm system over the nation’s mid-section will produce a band of heavy snow today across Nebraska, with accumulations of at least 4 inches expected before the system departs to the east and weakens.
Widespread showers and thunderstorms will develop later today in the Gulf Coast States and continue into the weekend. Elsewhere, unsettled weather will continue in California, where additional Pacific storms will arrive during the weekend and by the middle of next week. At least 3 to 5 inches of precipitation could fall in California during the next 5 days, with lighter amounts expected elsewhere in the West. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for February 18-22 calls for warmer- and drier-than-normal conditions across central and southern portions of the Rockies and High Plains. Meanwhile, cold weather will prevail in the Pacific Coast States and east of the Mississippi River. Elsewhere, above-normal precipitation across the northern Plains, parts of the Southeast, and much of the West will contrast with drier-than-normal weather in southern Florida and the lower Great Lakes region.
