Rare winter storm, heavy snow to hit Gulf Coast, southeastern U.S.

Arab Weather - As the United States of America continues to be affected by a historic and exceptional cold wave, it is expected that the states located on the Gulf Coast and the southeastern United States will be exposed to a heavy snow wave in the coming days.

The latest weather forecasts indicate that a very cold air mass will continue to remain over most parts of the southern and eastern regions of the United States over the next two days, as temperatures on Tuesday are expected to be 20 to 30 degrees below the January average in many areas, and temperatures are expected to be below zero in the central and southern plains and the Ohio Valley, and may extend to the mid-Atlantic region and the mid-Mississippi Valley until Wednesday.

Polar air meets Gulf moisture to create rare winter storm

The Gulf Coast and southeastern United States are expected to be hit by a winter storm with heavy rain and snow, as very cold polar air meets warm, moist currents coming across the Gulf of Mexico over the next two days.

Historic snow expected

The region could see historic snowfall along the Gulf Coast, with weather maps indicating snowfall rates of 2 cm/hour or more in eastern Texas and the western Florida Panhandle, potentially resulting in total snowfall of more than 15 cm in a short period.

Snowfall is expected to include Houston, New Orleans, Mobile and Pensacola, and mixed snow and freezing rain are also expected in eastern Georgia, northern Florida and the eastern Carolinas. The weather conditions are expected to cause significant disruption to highways and air traffic, road closures and flight cancellations, which could continue for several days even after the snowfall ends.

Despite cold snap, fires continue in Southern California

In stark contrast, the Santa Ana cyclone will continue to affect Southern California through the middle of the week, as the weather system there brings strong winds and significantly lower humidity, raising concerns that the fires will continue to spread.