Winter Storm Jett To Make Cross-Country Journey Bringing Snow To Most Of The Northern Tier

Yahoo

12-02-2025

The next winter storm of the winter season, the fifth winter storm in a week, is getting ready to make a cross-country trek that could cause snow and winter weather in states from California to Maine.
The system has been named Winter Storm Jett by The Weather Channel.
(MORE: Why Winter Storms Are Named)
Winter Storm Jett is currently located over the Northern Pacific off the West Coast of the United States, but a warm front associated with the low pressure system has already reached coastal California.
Heavy rain and strong winds have already begun for the region, causing the potential for flash flooding and debris flows, especially over burn scars from the recent Eaton and Palisades fires.
The National Weather Service has issued various winter weather alerts for snow and ice from this storm from the Sierra across high elevations in the Rockies. These areas could see hazardous travel, with the worst conditions expected in areas under winter storm warnings (darker blue below).
Here's a look at what to expect from Jett.
-West (Wednesday Night - Friday): Jett's impacts across the West will last through late week, spreading eastward from coastal California Wednesday Night to the Rocky Mountains by Thursday. Cities that could see periods of heavy snow include Salt Lake City and Boise. Wintry mix is possible in Seattle, Portland and Reno.
Heavy snow and gusty winds are especially likely in the Sierra Nevada, and the National Weather Service office in Reno is warning of the potential for up to 3 feet of snow along and west of US-395, and gusts could reach up to 100 mph on crests. The strong winds and heavy snow could cause blowing snow and poor visibility on roadways, causing travel hazards.
Jett is expected to become disorganized Thursday night as the storm's energy moves eastward over the Northern Rockies. By Friday, Jett starts to reorganize on the eastern side of the Rockies. Winter weather will persist over high elevations in the Rockies on the western edge of the storm.
-Central, Midwest (Friday - Saturday night): As the storm re-organizes on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, a region of snow ahead of the storm's warm front will begin to develop in the Upper Midwest, including cities like Chicago, Minneapolis and Des Moines.
The area of low pressure sinks southward on Friday night, allowing snow from the Rockies to connect with the snow in the Upper Midwest, bringing snow to portions of the Central Plains.
By Saturday, snow from Winter Storm Jett will cover portions of the Central Rockies, Central Plains and Midwest and begin to move into the Northeast. Wintry mix could cause dangerous travel conditions along the northern edge of the storm, but the exact location is still uncertain because of uncertainty in the track Jett will take.
-Northeast, Mid-Atlantic (Saturday - Sunday night): Snow is set to reach the Northeast by Saturday morning, and wintry mix is likely to stretch along the northern side of the storm's precipitation. What regions receive wintry mix and ice rather than snow or rain is still uncertain this far out in the forecast, but cities like Cleveland, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, should be on alert.
The Interior Northeast is likely to receive snow throughout much of the weekend, but the coast could go back and forth as Jett moves northeastward through the region. New York City and Boston are near the edge of rain vs snow, so the weather in the two cities may go back and forth from snow to rain back to to snow as the system moves through.
Severe weather threat: The warm side of the storm system will cause a severe weather threat across portions of the South on Saturday, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Damaging winds are possible in addition to potential tornadoes, though the tornado threat level is not yet known.
-The heaviest snow from the storm system is expected in high elevations of the Sierra and Rocky Mountains, with widespread snow totals up to 2 feet. Some areas along the Sierra Crest could even receive 4 to 6 feet of snow by Friday night.
-The Great Lakes and Northeast, especially Upstate New York into Maine, should also be on notice for the potential for heavy snow, as anywhere from 5 to 12 inches could fall.
Sara Tonks is a content meteorologist with weather.com and has a bachelor's and a master's degree from Georgia Tech in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences along with a master's degree from Unity Environmental University in Marine Science.