Winter storm tracks determine precipitation types
Another round of winter weather is expected after major snow and ice earlier in the week. But we aren't facing the same impacts in central Missouri from this next system.
Even in early forecasts, the upcoming chance for snow was not impressive for our area. It didn't require much digging to see why.
The track of a winter storm will typically provide an overview of the impacts at long lead times. These storms follow climatological paths that bring consistent patterns of snow, ice, and rain across the country.
Many of these storm tracks have earned recognizable names rooted in where they originate. Alberta Clippers are famous for bringing quick bursts of light snow as they dive out of Canada. Colorado Lows can produce some of the heaviest snow across the Midwest as they track from the Rockies to the Great Lakes. Further south, the wetter Gulf Lows are known to bring a smattering of strong storms, ice, and snow along the coast.
Generally, these storms will get wetter and warmer as you head from the poles to the equator. Air in the Arctic is frigid and usually drier, and the storms that originate from there will carry these characteristics. The same is true of storms that burst out of the warm and wet waters of the Gulf as they bring a mix of wintry and warm impacts.
Mid-Missouri receives the heaviest snows from Colorado Lows that track near the I-44 corridor, or Panhandle Hooks that swerve out of the Texas Panhandle up to the Upper Midwest. These tracks still vary widely and may seemingly overlap as each weather system produces a unique but familiar path.
