In a letter dated March 15, the Governor of Oklahoma requested a major disaster declaration as a result of the severe winter ice storm that occurred January 27-29. If the request is granted, all counties in the state will be eligible to apply for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. In a letter dated March 8, the Governor of Massachusetts requested an emergency declaration for snow assistance due to severe snowstorms and flooding that impacted the state March 5-7. The counties included under the request are Berkshire, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Worcester and contiguous counties. An upper-level low located near the lower Mississippi Valley will interact with subtropical moisture and produce heavy rains from Mississippi to Florida today.
Strong storms are in the forecast for parts of central and southern Florida.
Isolated tornadoes and strong winds will be the main threat. Due to the slow moving nature of this storm, heavy rains will once again soak the Southeast tomorrow and the Carolinas again on Wednesday with wet snow possible across portions of the southern Appalachians tomorrow and Wednesday. In the West, a weakening Pacific cold front will bring light accumulations of snow to the South Washington and Northern Oregon Cascades later tonight. Chinook winds will bring very mild temperatures to parts of Montana and across the Desert Southwest today. High pressure will bring blue skies to a good portion of the Northeast region today.