Snow to sweep along I-70 corridor of central US paving the way for a brutal Arctic blast
A woman was recently rescued after a snowplow in South Lake Tahoe, California, reportedly bumped into her buried car, which was illegally parked on the side of a street.
Arctic air, already invading the northern Plains, will continue to sweep southward and eastward as a storm with snow travels from St. Louis to Pittsburgh on Sunday.
The swath of heaviest snow emerged from Colorado and extended across Kansas to Missouri on Saturday night. Snow accumulations totaled 3-6 inches across much of Kansas and Missouri by Sunday morning.
Sunday is starting with snow creating slippery travel around St. Louis, where 2-4 inches is expected by the afternoon. Air travelers should anticipate disruptions, even after the snow tapers off.
Snow will continue to streak through the Ohio Valley and into the Northeast on Sunday.
"Due to moisture getting cut off from rain and severe thunderstorms in the South, snow amounts may less to around 1-3 inches between St. Louis and Pittsburgh in the Ohio Valley," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
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"Travel disruptions may not be as severe across Ohio Valley," according to Pydynowski. "Where the snow falls lightly during the day on Sunday across the Ohio Valley, it may struggle to stick to roads due to the stronger March sun."
"Travel disruptions may not be as severe across Ohio Valley," according to Pydynowski. "Where the snow falls lightly during the day on Sunday across the Ohio Valley, it may struggle to stick to roads due to the stronger March sun."
A bit of snow may also streak northward to around Detroit, but any accumulation will be limited to a coating on non-paved surfaces.
Chicago and Minneapolis are anticipated to remain on the drier and cold side of this storm. Flurries may fly over Chicago, but any light coating is expected to remain south of the city.
Despite the storm largely bypassing these cities, there can still be disruptions due to the ripple effect of delays and cancellations at the airports in the path of the snowstorm into Monday.
Areas from central Texas to Tennessee and the Gulf coast can expect rain and thunderstorms from this storm. Some of the thunderstorms may become severe from southern Mississippi to Georgia and South Carolina on Sunday.
The storm will cause its share of travel problems in the Northeast as well as the snow ramps back up from Pennsylvania to Maine later in the weekend.
Plunging temperatures will cause slush and wet areas to freeze solid soon after the conclusion of the storm. Temperatures will crash from the 30s and 20s to the teens, single digits and below zero in the snow area as the weekend draws to a close.
A lobe of the polar vortex will wobble across south-central Canada late this weekend and then close to the Great Lakes region next week. Its close proximity will inflict painful cold and windy conditions.
It may take until the end of the week before temperatures moderate significantly and the jet stream ends its southward polar plunge.
