Twin snowstorms focus fury on Mid-Atlantic and Midwest

A parade of storms continues its march across the Lower 48, with more lined up off the West Coast to come. The two main events at current are focusing on the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest through the midweek. At the same time, the international border with Canada is dealing with deep Arctic chill just days after the season’s first 100-degree reading in Texas.

Weather Watch

Winter storming. Winter storm warnings are in effect for D.C., Richmond, Charleston, W.Va., and Louisville, Ky., as the first of two winter storms moves east. Another zone of warnings runs from Kansas through Iowa and will likely extend through Chicago into the Great Lakes later Tuesday. Swaths of half a foot or more are anticipated from both storms.

Cold north. Temperatures as frigid as the minus-40s were expected this morning in parts of Montana as some of the coldest air of winter blankets the northern tier. With forecast wind chills around minus-50, an extreme cold warning is up for North Dakota and surrounding areas through midweek.

Hot Down Under. South Australia — including the Adelaide region — is forecast to see temperatures up to 122 degrees (50 Celsius), in one of the hottest episodes for the area in years. The government there issued a code red for the excessive temperatures.

Lightning link

The ‘snow moon,’ 2025’s second full moon, peaks this week.

Temperature spread Tuesday

With readings near minus-40 in Montana this morning, it’s almost hard to believe it reached 100 in the United States for the first time this year over the weekend.

It was exactly 100 on Friday and Saturday in Rio Grande, Texas. This was the earliest 100-degree reading in the country since 2008 when the same location hit the century mark on Feb. 5.

That’s about a 140-degree spread from north to south across the Lower 48 over a several-day span. Even today, with cooler air in place compared to the weekend, it should be as warm as the mid- or upper 80s in both Florida and South Texas.

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Weekday morning newsletter by a journalist/forecaster that connects weather and climate change dots while occasionally stirring the pot.

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