Residents of the eastern two-thirds should get their barometers ready this week as a complex set of storms moves from the Rockies to the Eastern Seaboard. By the time the U.S. shakes free of the storm, five distinct low pressure systems will have affected the country.

The infancy of this weather pattern is a cold front moving into the Pacific today. The low pressure system (#1) associated with this front will bring rain and some mountain snow into the Northwest and northern Rockies today.

Winter Storm Warnings are in place for the Cascades, while the mountains of northern California, Idaho and western Montana are under Winter Weather Advisories. Thanks to warm air ahead of this front, snow will be limited to areas above 5,000 feet today dropping to around 2,000 behind the front. This will bring 5 to 10 inches of snow to the Cascade passes, with as much as 18 inches of snow across the highest elevations.

An area of low pressure (#2) will continue to track eastward in Texas today. Having a much warmer origin, this low will draw warm Gulf air northward while the colder air sinks southward toward the Plains. These ingredients are helping a line of thunderstorms to progress east in the lower Mississippi Valley.

As we work our way into Tuesday and Wednesday, the colder air will become intertwined with the surface low as it moves across Nebraska and the Dakotas. Strong winds are likely to develop Tuesday night, lasting throughout the day on Wednesday, with much of the western Dakotas in line to see gusts of 50 to 60 mph. Limited moisture will prevent this storm from becoming an all-out blizzard, although 2 to 5 and locally up to 8 inches of heavy, wet blowing snow is possible across the Dakotas and into northwestern Minnesota. The rest of Minnesota and Iowa, including the Twin Cities, will be fortunate to see a chilly rain with a few light snow showers and the blustery conditions.

Currently, there are Winter Storm Watches and Warnings in effect in North Dakota, which includes the cities of Devils Lake, Rugby, and Langdon, N.D.

By Wednesday evening and Thursday, yet another low (#3) will develop across the Great Lakes, first bringing a cold rain to portions of Michigan and then bringing a rain/snow mix to the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. Residents of Chicago, northern Indiana, Ohio, and northern Pennsylvania could see their first flakes of the season as this system twirls across the Midwest, with the potential for lake-effect rain or snow by Thursday night and Friday.

Not to be outdone, another storm system (#4) is poised to develop along the cold front as it reaches the Eastern Seaboard on Thursday. Devoid of cold air at the beginning, this storm will bring the Mid-Atlantic and coastal New England a quick burst of much-needed heavy rainfall on Thursday. By Thursday night and Friday, that low pressure system will spin along the New England coast and into upstate New York. The higher elevations of New England could see enough cold air for accumulating snow, and lower elevations will be in line for wind-driven rain.

Speaking of wind-driven rain and snow, this pattern will have one more trick up its sleeve. An area of low pressure (#5) will form near the Canadian Maritimes on Saturday then spin in place for the next two days. While coastal Maine will experience high surf and wind gusts of 25 to 35 mph, cold air will keep the snow piling up in northern Maine, northern New Hampshire and into Vermont.

Exact snowfall amounts will be dependent on exactly where lows 4 and 5 set up, but the Green and White Mountains could see as much as 4 to 10 inches of snow this upcoming weekend, with enough cold air to dust the Berkshires, Catskills and Worcester Hills with the season’s first snowflakes. The storm’s American adventure will finally end on Monday as high pressure behind the complex of storms will shove the low into the Atlantic.

Series of Storms To Head From Coast To Coast This Week