Fast-moving storm to pave way for more punishing winter weather
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Feb 4, 2021 8:45 PM EDT
It started to get hard to see as snow blew down in Chicago, Illinois, late on Saturday, Jan. 30.
Punxsutawney Phil made his prognostication on Tuesday and declared six more weeks of winter. For many areas of the Midwest and Northeast that were buried under snow by a major storm earlier this week, it may feel a bit like the movie Groundhog Day.
Wintry hits are expected to keep on coming. A quick-hitting vigorous storm is expected to bring everything from accumulating snow and blizzard conditions to a wintry mix, localized flooding and strong wind gusts that could cause damage and sporadic power outages.
Blizzard warnings (pink), winter storm warnings (blue) and winter weather advisories (gray) were in effect on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, for parts of the north-central United States. (AccuWeather / National Weather Service)
Snow and blizzard conditions will occur along the system's northern edge, and rain and localized severe thunderstorms will erupt to the south late this week. High winds from the west and northwest will herald the arrival of the Arctic air and a freeze-up will quickly follow.
The storm dropped snow over the Rockies, which is fairly typical for early February, Wednesday and Wednesday night. Through Thursday night, the storm is expected to gain strength and cause much more wintry trouble over the Plains and Midwest. Ultimately, the storm will help to alter the weather pattern, which will yield more long-lasting cold in the North Central states.
This radar snapshot, taken during Thursday afternoon, Feb. 4, 2021, shows rain (green, yellow and red) and snow (blue) over the Midwest. The precipitation was advancing eastward. (AccuWeather)
Milder air that targeted the southern and central Rockies on Tuesday will wrap into the storm's southern section as it moves eastward into Friday. The combination of the mild air and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico is forecast to cause drenching rain to shift eastward from parts of Missouri and northern Arkansas through portions of Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky into Thursday night.
"Where this rain falls on areas with snow cover, from perhaps as far west as southern Iowa to the northern and central portions of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to possibly southwestern Pennsylvania and portions of West Virginia, there will be a risk of urban flooding from fast-melting snow," AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
Rain and at least slushy and sloppy conditions are forecast for Chicago on Thursday and perhaps Detroit for at time Thursday night.
The action of milder, moist air flowing over snow cover and cold ground can cause extensive foggy conditions that could add to the travel hazards and reduce the visibility for motorists.
As has been the case with most storms since the middle of January, locally heavy and gusty thunderstorms are likely to erupt within the warm portion of the storm system. AccuWeather meteorologists will be monitoring the potential for isolated severe thunderstorms in portions of the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys as the storm system progresses eastward on Thursday and Thursday night.
On the storm's colder northern side, snow is forecast to fall and cause headaches for motorists.
This storm will be fast-moving but intense in terms of wintry weather.
Motorists should be prepared for changing and adverse weather conditions along of interstates 80, 90 and 94 during the latter half of this week. Forecasters warn that several hundred miles of these interstates will be affected by the storm's wintry conditions.
"Most places in Nebraska, Iowa, southern Minnesota and southern Wisconsin will receive most, if not all, of their snow during a six- to 10-hour period on Thursday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll said.
A lone man looks out at the partially frozen Lake Michigan Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, as snow fell during day two of a winter storm in the greater Chicago area. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
"Strong winds and the flat, open terrain of the region will be a perfect recipe for ground blizzard conditions, where the visibility could drop to less than 1/8 of a mile at times, making driving extremely dangerous,” Doll explained.
Des Moines, Iowa, took on the appearance of the Arctic tundra during the midday hours of Thursday as snow fell, winds kicked up and temperatures plummeted from 34 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit in a few hours. Roads went from wet to slushy to snow-covered and are forecast to become icy as cold air continued to pour in during the rest of the day.
"Around the Great Lakes, gusts between 50 and 60 mph will progress eastward in response to the rapidly strengthening storm," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rossio said.
The powerful winds will cause other problems as well.
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"The high winds can lead to lakeshore flooding along the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan during the day Friday and the northeastern shoreline of lakes Erie and Ontario during Friday afternoon and evening," Rossio explained.
The strongest gusts can break tree limbs, send trash cans sailing through neighborhoods and lead to sporadic power outages.
Snowfall totals will generally be limited to several inches or less due to the storm's steady forward movement. However, Minneapolis is among the list of cities forecast to pick up enough snow to shovel and plow from the storm on Thursday and heavy snow, on the order of 6-12 inches is forecast to fall from part of eastern Iowa to northern Michigan.
"No doubt, Lake Superior will help to enhance the snow in this part of the Upper Midwest and where lake-effect snow ramps up on Friday, an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 30 inches is forecast through the afternoon hours," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said.
More snow will pile up and expand southeastward throughout the Great Lakes region as the lake-effect ramps up later Friday through this weekend.
Weak storms or disturbances are likely to rotate through the North Central states like spokes on a giant wheel well into next week. These features can lead to patches of light snow and cause lake-effect snow bands to shift around from day to day.
The same storm is forecast to spread a swath of rain, wintry mix and snow into the Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday.
All or mostly rain will fall from New York City to Washington, D.C., on south. Just as in portions of the Midwest, enough of a combination of rain and above-freezing temperatures can occur to lead to minor urban flooding in part of the mid-Atlantic I-95 corridor. This is likely to be mostly a problem where piles of snow and slush are blocking storm drains.
A wintry mix may end as a period of snow in parts of West Virginia, western and northern Pennsylvania and central New England with all or mostly snow farther to the northwest on Friday. Motorists should be prepared for wintry travel along and north of Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and just west of I-81 in Virginia.
Deep freeze-up coming
AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that any areas of standing water and slush will freeze solid as much colder air advances eastward across the Midwest into Friday.
Around Chicago, falling temperatures and snow are likely to make for a slippery commute home on Thursday with road conditions to transition from wet to slushy and snow covered with a layer of ice beneath.
Because of this, it is essential for crews and property owners to remove as much snow and slush from streets, parking lots and sidewalks as there is the risk of the slush to freeze solid and become very difficult to remove once the Arctic air moves in.
As the Arctic air races across the Great Lakes region from Friday through this weekend, bands of heavy lake-effect snow and snow squalls are anticipated with locally very heavy snowfall amounts likely.
There is some indication that a storm may try to form and rapidly strengthen as the front pushes through the Appalachians and to along the Eastern Seaboard from late this weekend to early next week. The track of this storm has yet to be determined. However, there is the potential for heavy snow to develop should the storm hug the coast, rather than sweep out to sea.
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
Fast-moving storm to pave way for more punishing winter weather
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Feb 4, 2021 8:45 PM EDT
It started to get hard to see as snow blew down in Chicago, Illinois, late on Saturday, Jan. 30.
Punxsutawney Phil made his prognostication on Tuesday and declared six more weeks of winter. For many areas of the Midwest and Northeast that were buried under snow by a major storm earlier this week, it may feel a bit like the movie Groundhog Day.
Wintry hits are expected to keep on coming. A quick-hitting vigorous storm is expected to bring everything from accumulating snow and blizzard conditions to a wintry mix, localized flooding and strong wind gusts that could cause damage and sporadic power outages.
Blizzard warnings (pink), winter storm warnings (blue) and winter weather advisories (gray) were in effect on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, for parts of the north-central United States. (AccuWeather / National Weather Service)
Snow and blizzard conditions will occur along the system's northern edge, and rain and localized severe thunderstorms will erupt to the south late this week. High winds from the west and northwest will herald the arrival of the Arctic air and a freeze-up will quickly follow.
The storm dropped snow over the Rockies, which is fairly typical for early February, Wednesday and Wednesday night. Through Thursday night, the storm is expected to gain strength and cause much more wintry trouble over the Plains and Midwest. Ultimately, the storm will help to alter the weather pattern, which will yield more long-lasting cold in the North Central states.
This radar snapshot, taken during Thursday afternoon, Feb. 4, 2021, shows rain (green, yellow and red) and snow (blue) over the Midwest. The precipitation was advancing eastward. (AccuWeather)
Milder air that targeted the southern and central Rockies on Tuesday will wrap into the storm's southern section as it moves eastward into Friday. The combination of the mild air and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico is forecast to cause drenching rain to shift eastward from parts of Missouri and northern Arkansas through portions of Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky into Thursday night.
"Where this rain falls on areas with snow cover, from perhaps as far west as southern Iowa to the northern and central portions of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to possibly southwestern Pennsylvania and portions of West Virginia, there will be a risk of urban flooding from fast-melting snow," AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
Rain and at least slushy and sloppy conditions are forecast for Chicago on Thursday and perhaps Detroit for at time Thursday night.
The action of milder, moist air flowing over snow cover and cold ground can cause extensive foggy conditions that could add to the travel hazards and reduce the visibility for motorists.
As has been the case with most storms since the middle of January, locally heavy and gusty thunderstorms are likely to erupt within the warm portion of the storm system. AccuWeather meteorologists will be monitoring the potential for isolated severe thunderstorms in portions of the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys as the storm system progresses eastward on Thursday and Thursday night.
On the storm's colder northern side, snow is forecast to fall and cause headaches for motorists.
This storm will be fast-moving but intense in terms of wintry weather.
Motorists should be prepared for changing and adverse weather conditions along of interstates 80, 90 and 94 during the latter half of this week. Forecasters warn that several hundred miles of these interstates will be affected by the storm's wintry conditions.
"Most places in Nebraska, Iowa, southern Minnesota and southern Wisconsin will receive most, if not all, of their snow during a six- to 10-hour period on Thursday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll said.
A lone man looks out at the partially frozen Lake Michigan Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, as snow fell during day two of a winter storm in the greater Chicago area. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
"Strong winds and the flat, open terrain of the region will be a perfect recipe for ground blizzard conditions, where the visibility could drop to less than 1/8 of a mile at times, making driving extremely dangerous,” Doll explained.
Des Moines, Iowa, took on the appearance of the Arctic tundra during the midday hours of Thursday as snow fell, winds kicked up and temperatures plummeted from 34 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit in a few hours. Roads went from wet to slushy to snow-covered and are forecast to become icy as cold air continued to pour in during the rest of the day.
"Around the Great Lakes, gusts between 50 and 60 mph will progress eastward in response to the rapidly strengthening storm," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rossio said.
The powerful winds will cause other problems as well.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"The high winds can lead to lakeshore flooding along the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan during the day Friday and the northeastern shoreline of lakes Erie and Ontario during Friday afternoon and evening," Rossio explained.
The strongest gusts can break tree limbs, send trash cans sailing through neighborhoods and lead to sporadic power outages.
Snowfall totals will generally be limited to several inches or less due to the storm's steady forward movement. However, Minneapolis is among the list of cities forecast to pick up enough snow to shovel and plow from the storm on Thursday and heavy snow, on the order of 6-12 inches is forecast to fall from part of eastern Iowa to northern Michigan.
"No doubt, Lake Superior will help to enhance the snow in this part of the Upper Midwest and where lake-effect snow ramps up on Friday, an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 30 inches is forecast through the afternoon hours," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said.
More snow will pile up and expand southeastward throughout the Great Lakes region as the lake-effect ramps up later Friday through this weekend.
Weak storms or disturbances are likely to rotate through the North Central states like spokes on a giant wheel well into next week. These features can lead to patches of light snow and cause lake-effect snow bands to shift around from day to day.
The same storm is forecast to spread a swath of rain, wintry mix and snow into the Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday.
All or mostly rain will fall from New York City to Washington, D.C., on south. Just as in portions of the Midwest, enough of a combination of rain and above-freezing temperatures can occur to lead to minor urban flooding in part of the mid-Atlantic I-95 corridor. This is likely to be mostly a problem where piles of snow and slush are blocking storm drains.
A wintry mix may end as a period of snow in parts of West Virginia, western and northern Pennsylvania and central New England with all or mostly snow farther to the northwest on Friday. Motorists should be prepared for wintry travel along and north of Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and just west of I-81 in Virginia.
Deep freeze-up coming
AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that any areas of standing water and slush will freeze solid as much colder air advances eastward across the Midwest into Friday.
Around Chicago, falling temperatures and snow are likely to make for a slippery commute home on Thursday with road conditions to transition from wet to slushy and snow covered with a layer of ice beneath.
Because of this, it is essential for crews and property owners to remove as much snow and slush from streets, parking lots and sidewalks as there is the risk of the slush to freeze solid and become very difficult to remove once the Arctic air moves in.
As the Arctic air races across the Great Lakes region from Friday through this weekend, bands of heavy lake-effect snow and snow squalls are anticipated with locally very heavy snowfall amounts likely.
There is some indication that a storm may try to form and rapidly strengthen as the front pushes through the Appalachians and to along the Eastern Seaboard from late this weekend to early next week. The track of this storm has yet to be determined. However, there is the potential for heavy snow to develop should the storm hug the coast, rather than sweep out to sea.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo