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Heat Wave Expands to the East Coast; Flash Flooding Likely in the Central Plains into the Midwest; Severe Thunderstorms in the Northeast

Dangerous, prolonged heat is ongoing in the Mid-South to Mid-Mississippi Valley and heat expands into the Northeast for a brief period today. Widely scattered instances of flash flooding due to heavy rains are forecast from northeast Kansas to much of Indiana. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across parts of New England, northern Mid-Atlantic, and North Dakota. Read More >

Overview

A strong storm system moved into the region on January 19th. As colder air quickly pushed southward, rain changed to snow as early as late morning in the Missouri Ozark Foothills. The changeover then worked eastward through the afternoon and early evening hours. Travel impacts were high, due to the combination of high snowfall rates (1-2" per hour), strong winds of 35-45+ mph, and rapidly falling temperatures below freezing. Roads quickly became snow and ice covered, and visibility was very low. Near-blizzard like conditions were experienced briefly in many areas. There were numerous accidents reported and some roads were closed for a while during the heart of the event. I-57 in southern Illinois was among the worst hit, which caused the Illinois State Police to close the interstate from Mount Vernon to Marion for a period of time on the evening of the 19th.
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