Major Winter Storm Develops in Plains

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Major Winter Storm Develops in Plains
7:30 AM CST, December 12, 2003

Another early-season winter storm was
beginning to take shape over the
southwest and southern Plains early
Friday.

Winter storm watches, warnings and
advisories are in effect from Arizona
eastward to Missouri and Arkansas with
accumulations of up to 10 inches
expected in parts of Kansas and
Oklahoma. Freezing sleet and sleet will
also cause slick travel in many areas
before a changeover to snow takes
place.

Early Friday the storm was centered in
west Texas and it was expected to
track east along the Gulf Coast, then
reform along the southeast coast by
late in the weekend.

The storm was not expected to be very
strong at all as it tracked across the
southern Plains, but warm and very
moist Gulf air moving atop or
"overrunning" an unseasonably cold air
mass was expected to generate locally
heavy precipitation.

A WeatherBug live sensor in Cleveland,
OK recorded 19 degrees early Friday
morning, while 200 miles to the north,
temperatures in the single digits were
recorded at sensors in Claflin and
Lincoln, Kansas.

Meanwhile, warm Gulf air streamed
north, WeatherBug live sensors in
south Texas recorded temperatures in
the 50s and 60s.

The storm is expected to impact a large
part of the eastern U.S. from the
weekend into Monday with significant
snow and ice accumulations likely
especially in interior locations from
North Carolina to Maine.