Yesterday's winter storm is centered over Iowa this morning and its counterclockwise winds are producing dramatic and ironic variations in the holiday weather. Strong southerly winds ahead of the storm are pushing relatively warm, moist air far to the north while cold, northerly winds to its west are bringing frigid air to the deep south. At this hour, the temperature in Dallas sits at 31 degrees F while it is five degrees warmer in northern Wisconsin; Chicago enjoys a balmy 42 degrees though, half a State to the southwest, Des Moines shivers at 19.
Northwest of the central low, the warm, humid air is being pushed over the dense, Arctic air, producing heavy snow which, combined with strong north winds behind the cold front, has created blizzard conditions across western Minnesota, the eastern Dakotas and down the Nebraska-Iowa border. Here in Missouri, wrap-around flurries, caught in a gusty, west wind, have arrived just in time for Christmas; the temperature is 17 F and is forecast to remain near 20 degrees throughout the day.
Powerful, slow moving storms often produce a marked contrast in weather over short distances and, as is evident today, one's latitude neither rules out nor guarantees a snowy Christmas. Like giant pinwheels, these massive systems can mix north with south in a sudden and dramatic fashion.
