Major lake-effect snow event disrupting travel around the Great Lakes
With feet of snow piling up east of the Great Lakes, travel disruptions will continue through the early week.
Cold air is heading to the North Central states on Wednesday night and could cause hazardous travel for those driving on highways as far south as western Pennsylvania.
The first significant lake-effect snow event is well underway across the Great Lakes and interior Northeast, and AccuWeather meteorologists continue to warn of additional heavy snow remaining in the forecast from the first round.
On Tuesday the frigid flow of air over the warm surfaces of the Great Lakes will produce additional bands of snow along the southern and eastern shorelines, producing treacherous travel conditions across the region.
From Friday to Sunday, snowfall reports spanning from northeast Ohio, northwest Pennsylvania into far southwest New York ranged from 12-24 inches to even exceeding 3 feet in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Cassadaga, New York. Numerous road closures occurred across portions of I-90 and I-86 in northwestern Pennsylvania for a time late Friday into Saturday.
While snow continued to pile up into the weekend, the Erie area recorded its maximum 24-hour snowfall total on Friday, with 22.6 inches observed.
"As snow squalls continue to impact portions of I-90 in northeastern Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania and far southwestern New York on Tuesday, additional restrictions can occur," pointed out AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex Duffus.
Any travelers taking to roads across the Great Lakes are urged to monitor the AccuWeather forecast and stay weather-aware for rapidly-changing conditions.
If motorists become stranded along the I-90 or I-81 corridors, they could quickly find themselves in life-threatening situations. Frigid conditions and gusty winds could elevate the risk for hypothermia, while times of rapidly reduced visibility in snow squalls can raise the risk of multi-vehicle pileups.
Storm chaser Aaron Rigsby was live on the AccuWeather Network from Copenhagen, New York, on Dec. 2, after lake-effect snow buried parts of the region.
Arctic air, blustery conditions to persist
The coldest air of the season so far will continue to plunge southward across the Midwest, Ohio Valley and Northeast into the first week of December. High temperatures ranged from the teens across North Dakota and northern Minnesota to the 30s Fahrenheit across southern Illinois, Kentucky into parts of West Virginia on Monday, with AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures even lower.
Making the chilly conditions worse, blustery winds have been blowing across the region since the start of the weekend.
However, forecasters note that gusts can subside slightly into Tuesday. Winds can range anywhere from 5-15 mph lower than this weekend, a noticeable difference with RealFeel in areas with subfreezing temperatures.
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Early week pattern: Lake-effect machine will continue
On Tuesday, the brisk and snowy pattern will persist across the eastern shores of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Snow showers, heavy at times, will continue to be the theme across the region and add to the running totals.
High temperatures on Tuesday will trend into the 20s and 30s F across the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and New England.
The pattern of lake-effect snow showers is set to persist through Tuesday, forecasters say. However, a separate storm is progged to dive southward out of Canada and impact parts of the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast from Tuesday to Thursday.
This storm will trigger new shifting bands of heavy lake-effect snow but also heavy snow squalls well away from the Great Lakes. The squalls could lead to a quick coating and rapid freeze-ups on some major highways.
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