The latest Pacific storm system shall push across the Pacific Northwest Friday, Rockies Saturday and Plains Sunday bringing wind, rain and snow but while there’s a large cold side to this storm, there’s an even bigger warm side where flooding rain and severe weather shall be a real threat.

The system shall bring powerful winds along the West Coast and over ridges while significant snows plaster the mountains from Cascades to Wasatch. Once this large storm system departs the Rockies and enters the Plains, warm,moist air from the Gulf is plugged and the storm deepens and so gale-force winds develop. Combination of heavy snow and sustained winds of 20-40 mph will produce blizzard conditions from from eastern Montana, Wyoming into the Dakotas.

This will be a significant snow maker for Rockies and Northern Plains.

Note the pencil sharp cut off between a 12+ and barely a couple of inches over South and North Dakota.

Powerful winds will affect many on the Plains Christmas Day bringing an all out blizzard across a large swathe of the Upper Plains, especially later Christmas Day into Boxing Day

Textbook tight thermal gradient and temperature spread ahead and behind the system’s CF.

Expect heavy flooding rainfall, damaging wind, hail and possibly tornadoes within the warm sector.

Watch today’s video.