Cold to Increase, Lead to Lake-Effect Snow

The North Central Regional radar indicates a cold front that has moved southward from Canada is sparking light rain and snow across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest.

The Winter Weather Center reports that there is little moisture to interact with the cold air. As a result, the forecast through tonight is for a few inches of snow to fall from the eastern Dakotas to central Illinois and some light snow over Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Wednesday, the cold front will continue to push across the rest of the Midwest, triggering additional light snow.

As reported on the Northeast Regional News page, the frigid air mass originating in the depths of the Arctic will cause temperatures to fall 5 to 10 degrees on Thursday. To add to the chill, stiff northwest winds will create RealFeel® temperatures that will be significantly colder than the actual high temperatures.

The arctic air blowing over the unusually mild water of the Great Lakes will activate the lake-effect snow machine. The Winter Weather Center is warning of heavy bands of snow and blinding squalls directly downwind of the lakes starting Wednesday night over western areas and continuing into Friday.

The hardest hit areas will be northwestern Pennsylvania, northeastern Ohio and western New York, which are forecast to receive a foot or more of snow from this event.

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