Storm could bring biggest snowfall of season to several US cities
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Feb 4, 2020 6:46 PM EDT
A long-tracking winter storm could deliver the most substantial snowfall of the season across portions of the central United States, including cities like Chicago, as it is predicted to affect a 1,500-mile corridor this week.
Oklahoma City has blown past its biggest single snowfall of the year so far with 4.5 inches of snow from the storm officially measured at Will Rogers Airport on Wednesday. The prior single-storm snowfall was 0.1 of an inch on Jan. 22.
This is a new daily snowfall record for OKC; the old record was 2.3 inches from 2002.
Winter storm warnings remained in effect from West Texas to western Illinois on Wednesday, and AccuWeather meteorologists warn that the winter storm will disrupt daily commutes, school and long-distance travel into Thursday.
The main storm follows a preliminary dose of light snow that coated areas from northeastern New Mexico to northern Missouri Tuesday into Tuesday evening.
This satellite loop of the United States was captured on Wednesday morning, Feb. 5, 2020. (NOAA / GOES-East)
Temperatures plummeted into the single digits in Denver as snow from the first system moved into the area on Tuesday morning, just two days after the high climbed into the mid-70s. The same system unleashed double-digit snowfall totals farther west in Utah. Salt Lake City International Airport was buried under record snow on Monday when 8.6 inches of snow fell. That amount shattered the Feb. 3 record of 7 inches, which had stood since 1936.
This lead storm helped to usher in colder air that has set the stage for snow and ice to develop farther south and east.
Snowfall amounts in the 2- to 4-inch range have occurred from near El Paso to just south of Lubbock, Texas, Wednesday morning.
A look at the radar Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 5, 2020, shows snow (blue) and ice (purple and pink) impacting the southern Plains. The snow was beginning to wind down over the southern Plains, but was ramping up over the Midwest.
Major cities, including Chicago, Detroit and Columbia, Missouri, are expected to be blanketed by a 3- to 6-inch snowfall. For these locations and many others, the weather system has the potential to be the biggest single snowstorm of the winter so far -- and an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches is forecast along the storm's route in the Midwest with a few locations in western Texas picking up a tad more.
"Snowfall for the season has been near to below normal across this corridor," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Carl Erickson pointed out.
Chicago has recorded three snow events of 3 inches or more this season. Its biggest single-day snow total this season is 3.4 inches -- from a storm that hit on Oct. 31 and another that hit on Nov. 11. The city picked up 3.1 inches on Jan. 17. The heaviest snow from the storm this week is forecast to occur on the south side of the city and into central Illinois and northwestern Indiana.
Detroit is a different story. Its biggest snow event of the season was from a storm that dropped 8.5 inches on Nov. 11. And on Jan. 18, Detroit saw an accumulation total of 6.8 inches. If AccuWeather's Local StormMax™ total hits Detroit, the storm could be the biggest of the season to date for the Motor City.
The overall heaviest snowfall from the storm, 24 inches, is projected to be over parts of northern New England, where the worst conditions from an all-out snowstorm are likely to be from Friday to Friday night.
Since the storm is targeting major population areas and airport hubs in the region, travel disruptions could be substantial. Airline passengers should anticipate flight delays and cancellations stemming from the major hubs of O'Hare International, St. Louis International and Detroit Metro airports.
Around Oklahoma City, the morning commute on Wednesday was a messy one, and numerous city trucks were out salting and plowing streets along snow routes. City officials urged motorists not to travel unless necessary.
"If you have to get out, drive slowly, increase your following distance and be careful," city officials said.
Despite the slippery conditions, the Oklahoma City Fire Department said around 7 a.m. local time that it had only responded to five accidents since midnight Wednesday.
As the storm moves to the east, travel conditions are expected to deteriorate around St. Louis. As the air cools, the snow or wintry mix will accumulate on roads and sidewalks.
Both the morning and afternoon commute on Thursday around Chicago and Detroit have the potential to be slow and slippery. Some schools may close during the storm due to the poor road conditions.
The Kansas City area in Missouri is likely to be grazed by the midweek storm but will be in the thick of the cold air. Flurries could evolve into steadier snow as the Chiefs' victory celebrations continue.
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A slight shift in the storm track by as little as 50-100 miles could move the heaviest swath of snow a bit farther to the northwest or southeast. Even so, a broad area of 1- to 3-inch snowfall is likely from portions of the southern High Plains to the middle Mississippi Valley and the lower Great Lakes region.
The storm will travel along the boundary between cold air to the northwest and warm air to the southeast. The zone of stark temperature changes will be set up a few hundred miles to the southeast of where the snow falls.
A cold rain will fall over lower portions of the southern Plains and the Ohio Valley. In between the rain and snow, freezing rain and sleet can occur across a narrow area.
In some cases, snow will follow a period of ice as temperatures dip and a rapid freeze-up occurs. The icy conditions can occur in such places as Abilene and Wichita Falls, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Fort Smith, Arkansas; Springfield, Missouri; St. Louis; Lafayette, Indiana; and Toledo, Ohio.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures are forecast to be in the single digits, teens and 20s in locales expected to receive snow and ice.
Forecasters say motorists should be prepared for slow, difficult and, in many cases, dangerous travel along portions of interstates 20, 35, 40, 44, 55, 57, 65, 69, 70, 72, 74, 80, 90 and 94.
The wintry precipitation will end from west to east across the southern Plains on Wednesday, then the middle part of the Mississippi Valley later Wednesday night and Thursday morning. The bulk of the snow will depart the Great Lakes region by Thursday night, but a large area of snow showers is forecast to linger over the Midwest through Friday evening.
It is possible that a sneaky storm will bring snow or a wintry mix to portions of the Ohio Valley this weekend, which will largely be missed by the midweek storm.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Storm could bring biggest snowfall of season to several US cities
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Feb 4, 2020 6:46 PM EDT
A long-tracking winter storm could deliver the most substantial snowfall of the season across portions of the central United States, including cities like Chicago, as it is predicted to affect a 1,500-mile corridor this week.
Oklahoma City has blown past its biggest single snowfall of the year so far with 4.5 inches of snow from the storm officially measured at Will Rogers Airport on Wednesday. The prior single-storm snowfall was 0.1 of an inch on Jan. 22.
This is a new daily snowfall record for OKC; the old record was 2.3 inches from 2002.
Winter storm warnings remained in effect from West Texas to western Illinois on Wednesday, and AccuWeather meteorologists warn that the winter storm will disrupt daily commutes, school and long-distance travel into Thursday.
The main storm follows a preliminary dose of light snow that coated areas from northeastern New Mexico to northern Missouri Tuesday into Tuesday evening.
This satellite loop of the United States was captured on Wednesday morning, Feb. 5, 2020. (NOAA / GOES-East)
Temperatures plummeted into the single digits in Denver as snow from the first system moved into the area on Tuesday morning, just two days after the high climbed into the mid-70s. The same system unleashed double-digit snowfall totals farther west in Utah. Salt Lake City International Airport was buried under record snow on Monday when 8.6 inches of snow fell. That amount shattered the Feb. 3 record of 7 inches, which had stood since 1936.
This lead storm helped to usher in colder air that has set the stage for snow and ice to develop farther south and east.
Snowfall amounts in the 2- to 4-inch range have occurred from near El Paso to just south of Lubbock, Texas, Wednesday morning.
A look at the radar Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 5, 2020, shows snow (blue) and ice (purple and pink) impacting the southern Plains. The snow was beginning to wind down over the southern Plains, but was ramping up over the Midwest.
Major cities, including Chicago, Detroit and Columbia, Missouri, are expected to be blanketed by a 3- to 6-inch snowfall. For these locations and many others, the weather system has the potential to be the biggest single snowstorm of the winter so far -- and an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches is forecast along the storm's route in the Midwest with a few locations in western Texas picking up a tad more.
"Snowfall for the season has been near to below normal across this corridor," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Carl Erickson pointed out.
Chicago has recorded three snow events of 3 inches or more this season. Its biggest single-day snow total this season is 3.4 inches -- from a storm that hit on Oct. 31 and another that hit on Nov. 11. The city picked up 3.1 inches on Jan. 17. The heaviest snow from the storm this week is forecast to occur on the south side of the city and into central Illinois and northwestern Indiana.
Detroit is a different story. Its biggest snow event of the season was from a storm that dropped 8.5 inches on Nov. 11. And on Jan. 18, Detroit saw an accumulation total of 6.8 inches. If AccuWeather's Local StormMax™ total hits Detroit, the storm could be the biggest of the season to date for the Motor City.
The overall heaviest snowfall from the storm, 24 inches, is projected to be over parts of northern New England, where the worst conditions from an all-out snowstorm are likely to be from Friday to Friday night.
Since the storm is targeting major population areas and airport hubs in the region, travel disruptions could be substantial. Airline passengers should anticipate flight delays and cancellations stemming from the major hubs of O'Hare International, St. Louis International and Detroit Metro airports.
Around Oklahoma City, the morning commute on Wednesday was a messy one, and numerous city trucks were out salting and plowing streets along snow routes. City officials urged motorists not to travel unless necessary.
"If you have to get out, drive slowly, increase your following distance and be careful," city officials said.
Despite the slippery conditions, the Oklahoma City Fire Department said around 7 a.m. local time that it had only responded to five accidents since midnight Wednesday.
As the storm moves to the east, travel conditions are expected to deteriorate around St. Louis. As the air cools, the snow or wintry mix will accumulate on roads and sidewalks.
Both the morning and afternoon commute on Thursday around Chicago and Detroit have the potential to be slow and slippery. Some schools may close during the storm due to the poor road conditions.
The Kansas City area in Missouri is likely to be grazed by the midweek storm but will be in the thick of the cold air. Flurries could evolve into steadier snow as the Chiefs' victory celebrations continue.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
A slight shift in the storm track by as little as 50-100 miles could move the heaviest swath of snow a bit farther to the northwest or southeast. Even so, a broad area of 1- to 3-inch snowfall is likely from portions of the southern High Plains to the middle Mississippi Valley and the lower Great Lakes region.
The storm will travel along the boundary between cold air to the northwest and warm air to the southeast. The zone of stark temperature changes will be set up a few hundred miles to the southeast of where the snow falls.
A cold rain will fall over lower portions of the southern Plains and the Ohio Valley. In between the rain and snow, freezing rain and sleet can occur across a narrow area.
In some cases, snow will follow a period of ice as temperatures dip and a rapid freeze-up occurs. The icy conditions can occur in such places as Abilene and Wichita Falls, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Fort Smith, Arkansas; Springfield, Missouri; St. Louis; Lafayette, Indiana; and Toledo, Ohio.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures are forecast to be in the single digits, teens and 20s in locales expected to receive snow and ice.
Forecasters say motorists should be prepared for slow, difficult and, in many cases, dangerous travel along portions of interstates 20, 35, 40, 44, 55, 57, 65, 69, 70, 72, 74, 80, 90 and 94.
Related:
The wintry precipitation will end from west to east across the southern Plains on Wednesday, then the middle part of the Mississippi Valley later Wednesday night and Thursday morning. The bulk of the snow will depart the Great Lakes region by Thursday night, but a large area of snow showers is forecast to linger over the Midwest through Friday evening.
It is possible that a sneaky storm will bring snow or a wintry mix to portions of the Ohio Valley this weekend, which will largely be missed by the midweek storm.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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