Alberta Clipper to bring snow showers to blizzard-weary northern US starting Christmas Day

A weak Alberta Clipper system will dive out of Canada on Christmas Day, moving across the northern tier of the U.S. before making its way to the Northeast by early next week. 

An Alberta Clipper is a quick-moving weather system from western Canada that sweeps across northern sections of the country. This type of system typically brings snow to the Northeast, Great Lakes and Midwest.

This system is forecast to bring only a few inches or less of snow, but the Clipper will slide across many areas just hit hard by the Christmas week blizzard, which brought dangerous snow, high winds, bitter cold and disruptive ice to most of the country. 

The FOX Forecast Center is forecasting only a few inches or less of snow due to the system’s lack of moisture and fast movement.

The highest snow totals are forecast in the Dakotas, southwestern Minnesota and down to Illinois, where 3 to 5 inches are possible through Tuesday.

The Clipper will dive south from Canada on Christmas Day, bringing some snow showers to the Dakotas and into portions of the Upper Midwest.

By Sunday evening, the system will bring snow showers down into Kansas City and St. Louis. 

Monday’s forecast

The Clipper will move across the Midwest on Monday, producing a few hours of light to moderate snowfall in Louisville, Indianapolis and Columbus. 

By Monday night, the system will reach the Northeast and bring a wintry mix to Erie in Pennsylvania and Syracuse in New York with temperatures in the high teens. 

The good news is that any impacts from this Clipper will be mild compared to the sub-zero temperatures and snowfall from the Christmas week winter storm.

Additionally, forecasters are tracking above-average temperatures into the New Year across the West, Plains and Northeast. 

While temperatures in the mid-20s for the Northern Plains may not seem like a warm-up, it beats wind chills in the negative 40s and 50s felt over the last few days.