Chicago hunkering down amid another thumping of snow
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan 31, 2021 3:02 PM EDT
Residents of the Midwest who dug out from piles of snow early this past week now need their shovels and snow blowers again as snow continues to blanket the area.
On Thursday, Rayno had advised people who live in Chicago to “buckle up” for another round of harsh winter weather.
By Sunday morning, several inches of snow had fallen on the Windy City. O'Hare airport officially reported 6.8 inches as of 6 AM local time Sunday morning. Chicago's Midway airport reported 7.4 inches as of the same time, while the National Weather Service office in Romeoville reported 9.5 inches. Numerous reports of generally 7 to 9 inches also came in across the city. An additional 1-3 inches is expected in much the region Sunday.
As the storm tracks farther to the east, Detroit and Cleveland are in line to pick up around 3-6 inches of snow from the weekend storm.
Many of these places are no stranger to winter weather this season, and this will be the second winter storm to smack parts of the region within the week. An early-week storm unloaded record amounts of snow across a corridor of the Midwest. Des Moines, Iowa, to Chicago were buried under 6-12 inches of snow with locally higher amounts in places. Road crews in those same areas are being kept busy again with a similar snowfall amounts from the ongoing storm.
But no two storms are exactly alike, and there will be differences with this storm. The system will pose additional hazards compared to the last storm, including blowing and drifting of snow that could lower visibility and make it even more difficult for crews to keep up with clearing roads.
Snow began to break out on Saturday from parts of eastern Nebraska to southern Minnesota first, then across central and northern Illinois and into western Indiana. By Saturday night many roads were covered and travel was difficult in the region. Snow will gradually taper off across the region from west to east Sunday evening.
While mild air was pulled into the storm for a time -- and it warmed up enough to change snow over to a wintry mix in parts of the Midwest, with just plain rain even farther south, forecasters say the threat for wintry precipitation isn't over.
"On Sunday, the storm over the Midwest will begin to weaken, and the warming process is likely to cease and perhaps reverse," AccuWeather Forecasting Manager Dan DePodwin said.
And with that renewed surge of cold air, wintry weather will make a comeback in some areas.
"From Sunday to Monday, as colder air filters in from the north and west, a swath of snow and flurries will extend eastward and cause some areas that received rain or a wintry mix for a time to see a change to snow and flurries with an additional accumulation likely," Rayno said.
Make no mistake, AccuWeather.com meteorologists warn: While the storm will weaken later this weekend into early week, it will still be strong enough to generate a significant amount of wind in addition to triggering a final burst of wintry precipitation.
Snow on the front and back sides of the storm will be subject to some blowing and drifting, especially in light of the vast open areas of the region. Motorists should expect hazardous conditions with poor visibility and slippery roads during the storm. Poor travel conditions could span a few days from start to finish.
Des Moines is well ahead of average snowfall for this point of the winter season. Nearly 44 inches of snow have fallen through Jan. 31. Meanwhile, adding in the recent thumping of snow, Chicago is now above its average snowfall to date. A total of 24.5 inches have piled up (with snow ongoing), compared to a normal of 19.3 inches to date.
Many other cities from central Iowa and southeastern Minnesota to southern Michigan and northern and central Ohio will see several inches of snow added to their seasonal total from the storm.
For parts of central Indiana, as well as northern Indiana, central Illinois and a large part of Ohio, this storm is going to bring more snow than the system from the start of the week. Little snow, on the order of a coating to an inch or two, fell during the last storm from central Illinois to central and northern Indiana and central and northern Ohio.
Indianapolis is well behind the average pace this winter with 9.8 inches versus a normal of 15.7 inches as of Saturday.
The storm on deck for this weekend into early week has the potential to bring much more substantial snow for not only for the northern parts of these Ohio Valley states but also many areas farther to the east, including areas from the central Appalachians to the coastal mid-Atlantic and New England, when compared to the prior storm. AccuWeather.com meteorologists began warning of the snow potential days ago.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
As the primary storm begins to weaken late in the weekend and early week, a secondary storm is expected to form and become an all-out nor'easter. This will bring heavy snow to parts of the Eastern Seaboard which may hit many of the major airport hubs in the Interstate 95 corridor.
Farther south, in the storm's warm sector, areas from the Gulf coast to the lower Mississippi Valley and southern Atlantic coast will get rain. Forecasters say that some thunderstorms could erupt, and it is not out of the question for a small number of them to turn severe. The last winter storm unfolded in a similar manner and spawned a deadly tornado north of Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday night, and a brief tornado touched down and caused damage at Tallahassee Airport, Florida, on Wednesday.
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
Chicago hunkering down amid another thumping of snow
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan 31, 2021 3:02 PM EDT
Residents of the Midwest who dug out from piles of snow early this past week now need their shovels and snow blowers again as snow continues to blanket the area.
On Thursday, Rayno had advised people who live in Chicago to “buckle up” for another round of harsh winter weather.
By Sunday morning, several inches of snow had fallen on the Windy City. O'Hare airport officially reported 6.8 inches as of 6 AM local time Sunday morning. Chicago's Midway airport reported 7.4 inches as of the same time, while the National Weather Service office in Romeoville reported 9.5 inches. Numerous reports of generally 7 to 9 inches also came in across the city. An additional 1-3 inches is expected in much the region Sunday.
As the storm tracks farther to the east, Detroit and Cleveland are in line to pick up around 3-6 inches of snow from the weekend storm.
Many of these places are no stranger to winter weather this season, and this will be the second winter storm to smack parts of the region within the week. An early-week storm unloaded record amounts of snow across a corridor of the Midwest. Des Moines, Iowa, to Chicago were buried under 6-12 inches of snow with locally higher amounts in places. Road crews in those same areas are being kept busy again with a similar snowfall amounts from the ongoing storm.
But no two storms are exactly alike, and there will be differences with this storm. The system will pose additional hazards compared to the last storm, including blowing and drifting of snow that could lower visibility and make it even more difficult for crews to keep up with clearing roads.
Snow began to break out on Saturday from parts of eastern Nebraska to southern Minnesota first, then across central and northern Illinois and into western Indiana. By Saturday night many roads were covered and travel was difficult in the region. Snow will gradually taper off across the region from west to east Sunday evening.
While mild air was pulled into the storm for a time -- and it warmed up enough to change snow over to a wintry mix in parts of the Midwest, with just plain rain even farther south, forecasters say the threat for wintry precipitation isn't over.
"On Sunday, the storm over the Midwest will begin to weaken, and the warming process is likely to cease and perhaps reverse," AccuWeather Forecasting Manager Dan DePodwin said.
And with that renewed surge of cold air, wintry weather will make a comeback in some areas.
"From Sunday to Monday, as colder air filters in from the north and west, a swath of snow and flurries will extend eastward and cause some areas that received rain or a wintry mix for a time to see a change to snow and flurries with an additional accumulation likely," Rayno said.
Make no mistake, AccuWeather.com meteorologists warn: While the storm will weaken later this weekend into early week, it will still be strong enough to generate a significant amount of wind in addition to triggering a final burst of wintry precipitation.
Snow on the front and back sides of the storm will be subject to some blowing and drifting, especially in light of the vast open areas of the region. Motorists should expect hazardous conditions with poor visibility and slippery roads during the storm. Poor travel conditions could span a few days from start to finish.
Des Moines is well ahead of average snowfall for this point of the winter season. Nearly 44 inches of snow have fallen through Jan. 31. Meanwhile, adding in the recent thumping of snow, Chicago is now above its average snowfall to date. A total of 24.5 inches have piled up (with snow ongoing), compared to a normal of 19.3 inches to date.
Many other cities from central Iowa and southeastern Minnesota to southern Michigan and northern and central Ohio will see several inches of snow added to their seasonal total from the storm.
For parts of central Indiana, as well as northern Indiana, central Illinois and a large part of Ohio, this storm is going to bring more snow than the system from the start of the week. Little snow, on the order of a coating to an inch or two, fell during the last storm from central Illinois to central and northern Indiana and central and northern Ohio.
Indianapolis is well behind the average pace this winter with 9.8 inches versus a normal of 15.7 inches as of Saturday.
The storm on deck for this weekend into early week has the potential to bring much more substantial snow for not only for the northern parts of these Ohio Valley states but also many areas farther to the east, including areas from the central Appalachians to the coastal mid-Atlantic and New England, when compared to the prior storm. AccuWeather.com meteorologists began warning of the snow potential days ago.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
As the primary storm begins to weaken late in the weekend and early week, a secondary storm is expected to form and become an all-out nor'easter. This will bring heavy snow to parts of the Eastern Seaboard which may hit many of the major airport hubs in the Interstate 95 corridor.
Farther south, in the storm's warm sector, areas from the Gulf coast to the lower Mississippi Valley and southern Atlantic coast will get rain. Forecasters say that some thunderstorms could erupt, and it is not out of the question for a small number of them to turn severe. The last winter storm unfolded in a similar manner and spawned a deadly tornado north of Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday night, and a brief tornado touched down and caused damage at Tallahassee Airport, Florida, on Wednesday.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo