That Messy Storm This Week To Also Bring Severe Weather, Record Heat

Daffodils blooming in Alabama last week after weeks
of strangely warm winter weather. 

Up here in Vermont, we're still expecting a fairly strong storm system to bring us snow, sleet, freezing rain, rain, wind and wild temperature swings during the middle of this upcoming week.

Elsewhere, the storm will spread a wide variety of weather as well, including a possible severe weather outbreak in the Ohio Valley and parts of the Southeast, as well as record high temperatures from the southern Plains to the East Coast.

I don't think the severe weather Monday and Tuesday will be as bad as that January tornado outbreak, which killed at least 18 people across the South. 

While there might be some tornadoes with this new storm, the primary threat will be strong and damaging thunderstorm winds and big hail.

That kind of stuff can be dangerous and fatal and should be taken seriously, but it's not quite as risky as a super strong tornado roaring through.

It's been a very warm winter across the South and this storm will help add to it. Record high temperatures ahead of the storm are likely from Texas to Oklahoma all the way to the Atlantic Seaboard.

It'll turn sharply colder as the storm's cold front slices through. It's been so warm in the South that daffodils and narcissus and other flowers are blooming.

But it's still winter, so these plants could literally get nipped in the bud if the upcoming cold wave is strong enough. Plus it's only February, so there could well be other wintry cold waves over the next few weeks.

Up here in Vermont, the forecast remains the same, with snow likely breaking out Tuesday, then going to a mix of sleet, freezing rain and evetually rain Tuesday night and Wednesday.

We'll get a very brief squirt of that warm air with this system Wednesday before the storm's strong cold front blusters through. We're looking at highs in the 40s, but if the warm air can assert itself enough in the short window of opportunity it has to flood into Vermont, Burlington's record high of 51 degrees Wednesday could be threatened.

Iffy, but you never know.

Then it's back to normal February weather by Friday.