Latest Forecast for Tornado-Ravaged Plains, Southeast

 AccuWeather.com reports severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes, are set to roam parts of the country yet again over the next couple of days, but these thunderstorms should spare most of the hardest-hit areas in last week's historic tornado outbreak.

Severe thunderstorms which may spawn more tornadoes will erupt from the southern Plains into the Ohio Valley through tonight. Unfortunately, some of those towns devastated last week could again be stuck by severe thunderstorms, explained meteorologist Bill Deger.

Towns across eastern Oklahoma and into Arkansas bracing for this renewed threat will include Little Rock, Ark.

A cold front pushing through the southern Plains will be the catalyst sparking the severe weather across the region; this same cold front will push into the Gulf coast states and Carolinas through Thursday.

A slew of tornadoes rampaged across Mississippi and Alabama last week before more tornadoes hit the mid-Atlantic and Carolinas this past weekend.

The cold front set to spark dangerous thunderstorms through tonight will push into the tornado-ravaged areas of the Gulf coast and Carolinas.

The good news is that the severe threat will diminish significantly by the time the cold front reaches the hard hit areas of southern Mississippi and Alabama on Wednesday. The threat will diminish even further as the front heads into the Carolinas Wednesday night into Thursday.

A stronger thunderstorm cannot be ruled out across the Gulf coast and Carolinas Wednesday and Thursday, but any should be isolated. Tornadoes are not forecast with any strong storms across the Gulf coast, but gusty winds and hail could make appearances.

By Andrew Musolline, Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

Real Men don't need power saws

Blah! How Long Is This Cold Weather Going to Last?

State College, Pa. -- 25 March 2011 -- AccuWeather reports after being teased with spring warmth last week, people from the Upper Midwest to the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Northeast have been thrown right back into winter. Now, many are wondering how long the cold is going to stick around.

At the very least, it's going to stay cold in these areas through much of next week with highs largely remaining in 30s or 40s. In addition to the cold, more snow is also in the forecast through next week.

Parts of the Southeast are, too, expected to be colder than normal the last week of March into early April with a more significant cold shot arriving there toward the middle and end of next week.

The southern Plains and Texas will not escape that cold blast either, though it will hit these areas a bit earlier in the week.

Looking further ahead through April and into May, there are indications that chiller weather could remain the norm from the Upper Midwest to the Ohio Valley and Northeast. Temperatures are expected to be below normal across much of the Northwest during this time as well.

"We don't see much of a big change from April into May," said Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather.com expert senior meteorologist and leader of the AccuWeather.com Long-Range Forecasting Team. "In general, places that are cold and stormy right now will stay that way, while the areas experiencing warm, dry weather right now stay warm and dry."

That is not to say that the regions will not experience any breaks from the cold through early May. Spring is a season of large temperature swings, and occasional warm-ups can and will occur in each of these areas. Colder weather is just expected to be more dominant.

In the Northeast, the overall pattern of cool, unsettled weather could start easing after the early part of May and especially heading into summer.

Temperatures across the Southeast are generally expected to average slightly above normal from mid- to late spring. Pastelok expects daytime highs to be a bit warmer than normal, though cooler nighttime lows will act to offset those departures.

Winners for Spring Warmth Are the Southwest, Southern Plains

Following a blast of cold air all the way into the southern Plains early next week, warming is predicted to kick in across the Southwest and southern Plains as a dominant area of high pressure sets up over the region.

The AccuWeather.com Long-Range Forecasting Team expects this warming trend to continue there throughout the rest of the spring.

While people stuck in the colder areas of the country may be a bit envious of the warmth in the Southwest and southern Plains, it will not come without consequences.

In addition to being warm, the Southwest and western portion of southern Plains are also expected to stay drier than normal, which will worsen the drought already affecting the area.

Wildfires, which have already been a problem in the region, will remain a concern throughout the spring, and likely the summer as well.

The AccuWeather.com Spring 2011 Forecast, which was released in early March, has more details on what is expected across the nation this spring.

By Heather Buchman, Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

Snowstorm in Japan Could Mean Snowstorm in Eastern US

State College, Pa. -- 18 March 2011 -- AccuWeather reports the same setup that brought a snowstorm to part of Japan this week could show up in the eastern U.S. during the middle of next week.

While the budding warmth late this week in the eastern U.S. is tempting, don't put away the snow shovels or take the snow tires off the car just yet.

A dip in the jet stream, known as a trough, has been producing cold and snow in Japan in the wake of the devastating earthquake, tsunami and aftershocks.

AccuWeather.com meteorologists are well aware of a connection between a trough in Japan, and then a trough in the eastern U.S. 7 to 10 days later.

While these troughs almost always bring cold weather, sometimes they bring snow during the fall, winter and early spring, and severe weather later in the spring and summer.

Interestingly, some of the tools that we use, such as computer models, are showing one or more storms with snow swinging eastward from the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts spanning Tuesday to Thursday of next week.

While the details of timing and nature of the precipitation associated with the storms has yet to be determined, there is at least a possibility that one or more swaths of accumulating snow will stretch from part of the Midwest to the East Coast next week, including part of the South.

Regardless of the location and amount of snow, or number of snow showers, it is going to get much colder for a several-day period next week for most areas east of the Mississippi River.

The region around Sendai, Japan received several inches of snow spanning Tuesday night into Wednesday this week.

The snow and cold added further misery to desperate rescue attempts as the hope for finding survivors in the rumble across the region dwindled.

By Alex Sosnowski, Senior Expert Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com