Eastern Storm Messes with Holiday Travel

Surface map at 10:00 p.m. EST November 26

A low pressure system winding up in the southeast tonight has already caused problems for holiday
travel with heavy rain, freezing rain, and expected snow.

This surface low low is associated with the cutoff upper low that has been slowly crossing the southern U.S. this week. The cutoff low is in the process of phasing with the trough moving through the Great Lakes and it will be one large trough over the eastern U.S. on Wednesday.

500 millibar map analysis for 7:00 p.m. EST November 26

Rainfall totals in the Gulf Coast states exceeded 4 inches in Louisiana and Mississippi. Further to the northeast in the colder air up to a quarter inch of freezing glazed portions of North Carolina, northern Georgia, and Virginia.  Two to three inches of additional rain fell today in the mid-Atlantic states.

24 hour precipitation ending at 7:00 a.m. EST November 26

The surface low will move northeast along the coast on Wednesday, and is expected to be centered off the central New Jersey coast by early Wednesday afternoon.

Forecast surface map for 1:00 p.m. EST Wednesday, November 27.

A large band of snow and some freezing rain is expected west of the low track extending from the southern Appalachians to northern New England

Probability for the 24-hour period ending at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 27

By Thanksgiving morning the low will be in eastern Quebec with light snow and flurries lingering over northern New England and lake effect snow showers from Michigan east through New York.