Rounds of snow to sweep from Montana to Minnesota, Michigan into April
A series of storms with snow, rain and slick travel will sweep across part of the north-central United States into early April, including part of the Easter weekend.
The storms will travel from west to east along the boundary between Arctic air to the north and Pacific air to the south.
"Since these storms will be fast-movers, it will not snow [or rain] very long," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rossio.
For most of these events, the snowfall accumulation is likely to fall in 1- to 6-inch range, with perhaps a few places that may pick up a bit more.
A factor working against a heavy accumulation of snow on the roads will be the strength of early spring sunshine.
Typically, it must snow very hard to accumulate on paved surfaces from the mid-morning into the early evening hours. These surfaces absorb heat from the sun during the day and may remain warm until around sunset or shortly thereafter.
However, as these surfaces cool from a heavy rate of snow, or during the nighttime hours, snow may accumulate in a hurry.
Expect rain to fall south of the snow area with a wintry mix in between. Thunderstorms may occur south of each storm track, especially with the stronger storm systems.
Storm to bring snow during part of Easter and Passover weekend
One storm that bears watching for a quick dose of moderate snowfall will occur from Friday to Saturday. That storm will travel from Montana to Michigan.
"The exact track of the storm will determine where the narrow swath of accumulating snow will go," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Dean DeVore.
At this time, the greatest potential for accumulating snowfall will stretch from Minot and Fargo, North Dakota, to Duluth, Minnesota; and Marquette and Traverse City, Michigan.
Timing for the snow in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin is likely to be late Friday night to early Saturday morning. Because of this roads are likely to be slushy for a time.
In areas from eastern Wisconsin to northern Michigan, most of the snow will fall during the daylight hours on Saturday, when it may struggle to accumulate on the roads or not accumulate for very long.
Airline passengers should be prepared for delays due to gusty winds south of the snow area on Saturday. This includes the major hubs of Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit.
Busy, wintry pattern to persist over northern tier
Additional quick-moving storms are projected to streak eastward during next week.
The track of each storm may vary with the more northern storms being the most likely to bring periods of all or mostly snow.
The overall weather pattern will keep temperatures well below average over much of the North Central states into the first part of April.
The weather pattern during winter has resulted in well above-average snowfall for much of Montana and the northern High Plains. In many cases, snowfall has been close to twice that of average.
Temperatures have averaged well below normal over much of the North Central states this winter.
Similar to the area from Montana to Michigan, portions of northern New York state and northern New England are likely to have their share of wintry precipitation events into the first part of April.
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