一场冬季风暴预计将在本周末影响美国大范围地区,降水形式包括降雪、冻雨和雨夹雪,但具体位置和强度仍高度不确定。国家气象局的预测显示,风暴可能影响近 30 个州,从新墨西哥州和得克萨斯州一直延伸到缅因州,并向南至佐治亚州。模型最初指向中大西洋和东北部的强降雪,以及更南部地区的严重结冰,但随后数据发生明显变化,增加了对冻雨的担忧。
气象学家指出,该系统从墨西哥湾吸收了大量水汽,意味着美国南部和东部大范围地区几乎肯定会出现降水。预计一条广泛区域将出现超过 2 英寸的等效降水量,但其最终表现为雨、雪、冻雨还是混合形式仍是关键不确定因素。风暴路径和降水类型将取决于高空低压系统等大气结构的演变,而这些因素在数天前仍难以精确建模。
历史数据显示潜在风险显著。2014 年的一场冰暴曾导致佐治亚州和南卡罗来纳州部分地区停电数日,而即将到来的风暴发生在得克萨斯州一次致命冬季风暴近五周年前夕,那次事件造成约两周停电并导致近 250 人死亡。若风暴后气温迅速下降,最低约 20 华氏度、白天仅 28 华氏度,结冰损坏电力设施与寒冷叠加,可能放大基础设施和生命安全风险。
A winter storm is expected to affect a large portion of the United States this weekend, bringing snow, freezing rain, and sleet, while the exact locations and intensities remain highly uncertain. National Weather Service projections indicate impacts across nearly 30 states, stretching from New Mexico and Texas to Maine and as far south as Georgia. Early models pointed to heavy snow in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast and severe icing farther south, but later data shifted significantly, increasing concern about freezing rain.
Meteorologists note that the system has drawn substantial moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, making precipitation across much of the southern and eastern United States highly likely. A broad swath is forecast to receive more than 2 inches of liquid-equivalent precipitation, yet whether it falls as rain, snow, freezing rain, or a mix remains the central uncertainty. Storm evolution will depend on upper-level atmospheric features, including a developing low-pressure system, which are still difficult to model days in advance.
Historical data highlight the potential stakes. A 2014 ice storm left parts of Georgia and South Carolina without power for days, and the upcoming event arrives just shy of the five-year anniversary of a Texas winter storm that caused roughly two weeks of outages and killed nearly 250 people. If temperatures drop sharply after the storm, with lows near 20 degrees Fahrenheit and daytime highs around 28 degrees, ice-related power failures combined with cold exposure could significantly amplify infrastructure and public safety risks.