National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Storm Impacting the Northwest U.S.; Fire Weather Conditions in Southern California; Severe Weather in the South

A Pacific storm is bringing areas of low elevation rain, moderate to heavy mountain snow, and high winds to the Northwest. Strong Santa Ana winds and very dry conditions are producing elevated to critical fire weather conditions in southern California. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible through early Wednesday morning across parts of northeast Texas into western Tennessee. Read More >

Cold air coming south out of Canada is expected to give us overall colder than normal conditions from the last few days of February into the first week of March. So far, it appears that the two time periods most likely to experience cold weather are February 26-28 and March 3-5. After a chilly start to March, it looks like temperatures will moderate during the second half of the month. Some model data also hint that the chances of severe weather will begin to increase in the second half of the month -- not too unusual as we begin to head into spring. Speaking of which, spring begins at 11:50pm EDT/10:50pm CDT March 19 this year.

6-10 Day Outlook 6-10 Day Precipitation Outlook
The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is forecasting a 60-70% probability of a colder than normal average temperature in the Ohio Valley for the period February 26-March 1.  The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is forecasting a 40-50% probability of a drier than normal precipitation total in the Ohio Valley for the period February 26-March 1. 
   
8-14 day temperature forecast 8-14 day precipitation forecast
The CPC is forecasting a 50-60% probability of a colder than normal average temperature in the Ohio Valley for the period February 28-March 5.  The CPC is forecasting a 33-40% probability of a drier than normal precipitation total in the Ohio Valley for the period February 28-March 5. 
   
March temperature forecast March precipitation outlook
The CPC is forecasting about a 35% chance of a colder than normal March. Implicit in this forecast is a 33% chance of a near normal March and a 32% chance of a warmer than normal March. The CPC is forecasting about a 35% chance of a drier than normal March. Implicit in this forecast is a 33% chance of a near normal March and a 32% chance of a wetter than normal March.