Hello everyone!

We have two main systems to watch today, one dropping SE across the Northern Plains, and the other departing New England.

Both systems show up well on GOES-16 water vapor satellite imagery (what’s that?). New England remains near the northern end of a very impressive plume of moisture, and as a result, rain will continue there throughout the day as low pressure moves north. The Northern Plains storm is strung out over a wide area. One disturbance is dropping SE through Montana, another disturbance is located near Bismarck, ND, and a third is dropping S through Saskatchewan. These three disturbances will combine with a strong northerly wind to bring heavy snow and wind to parts of Minnesota.

This simulated radar image shows rain and snow impacting Minnesota this evening. While snow won’t last long enough in any one location to accumulate significantly, the combination of heavy snowfall rates and strong winds will result in dangerous travel conditions.

ECMWF forecasts show sustained northerly winds in excess of 30 mph this evening for parts of the Dakotas. Wind gusts will be much higher, in excess of 50 mph. Snow and wind will depart tomorrow as the storm moves southeast.

In New England, rain will continue north of Massachussets this afternoon as low pressure wraps up over the ME/NH border. Additional heavy rainfall will cause some flooding concerns over Eastern Maine where the deepest moisture and heaviest rain is expected.

Cold air will flood into the region behind this storm, and rain will change to snow in the high elevations of the White Mountains. With accumulations of a few inches expected, this will mark the first accumulating snow for locations in the Northeast this season. Drier weather will move into New England tomorrow.

A national look at the simulated radar for this evening shows that, outside of the two storms we’ve already discussed, quiet weather is expected across the US.

For more information on what’s expected in your area today: https://weather.us/

For more information on today’s forecast for Maine and New Hampshire: https://forecasterjack.com/2017/10/26/rain-continues-today/

-Jack