Rounds of snowfall to reinforce icy weather pattern in Upper Midwest
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Dec 11, 2019 6:30 PM EDT
Following the season's most punishing cold yet, a couple of storms originating from western Canada will spread snow and cause slippery travel across parts of the northern Plains and parts Midwest into this weekend -- and reinforcing cold will keep the region firmly in the icy grips of a winterlike pattern.
Known as an Alberta clipper, a weak weather system spread a light snowfall from Iowa to northern Illinois and northern Indiana Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. A coating to 1-2 inches of snow fell and created slippery roads as frigid air became fully entrenched across the region.
Clipper storms, by their nature, typically produce a narrow zone of light to moderate snow and the next two such storms are likely to do just that.
Sometimes, as these types of storms tap into the moisture of the Great Lakes, they can produce locally heavier amounts of snow. That could happen with the first clipper storm on Thursday over parts of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The first clipper storm spread intermittent snow from western and central North Dakota on Wednesday to northeastern South Dakota and central and northern Minnesota during Wednesday night.
Previously cleared roads became slippery all over again around Fargo, North Dakota, during Wednesday evening and Minneapolis into Thursday morning. The early week storm also blanketed the two cities with fresh snow.
"A general 1-3 inches of snow is forecast over the northern Plains," AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
"As the storm moves through the western Great Lakes, a band of 3-6 inches of snow is likely to occur with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 8 inches," Rayno added.
Steady snow from this first clipper storm is expected to pass north of Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit.
A second clipper will tend to tiptoe across the northern Plains late this week with spotty snow.
Snow amounts will be enhanced by a storm moving northward from the Gulf of Mexico this weekend as the weather-maker arrives in the Great Lakes region.
Depending on how efficiently and quickly the merge of the two systems occurs, a batch of steadier snow or bands of moderate snow may develop rather far to the west around the central and lower Great Lakes region.
In lieu of a general area of accumulating snow, pockets where a coating to a few inches could occur in cities that got missed by the Thursday clipper such as Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland.
Should this scenario unfold, snow would commence on either side of Lake Michigan on Saturday morning and expand eastward into Saturday night, before the Gulf storm lifts into Canada on Sunday.
A brief period of lake-effect snow is likely to follow the storm on Sunday to Sunday night.
Caroling was heard in the midst of snowfall in Painesville, Ohio, Tuesday night. Officials prohibited parking on city streets to allow the plows through safely.
Just enough cold air will be held in place from the northern Plains to the Midwest to set the stage for more winterlike trouble late this weekend to early next week, as the barrage of storms continues this December.
Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast in your area. 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
Rounds of snowfall to reinforce icy weather pattern in Upper Midwest
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Dec 11, 2019 6:30 PM EDT
Following the season's most punishing cold yet, a couple of storms originating from western Canada will spread snow and cause slippery travel across parts of the northern Plains and parts Midwest into this weekend -- and reinforcing cold will keep the region firmly in the icy grips of a winterlike pattern.
Known as an Alberta clipper, a weak weather system spread a light snowfall from Iowa to northern Illinois and northern Indiana Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. A coating to 1-2 inches of snow fell and created slippery roads as frigid air became fully entrenched across the region.
Clipper storms, by their nature, typically produce a narrow zone of light to moderate snow and the next two such storms are likely to do just that.
Sometimes, as these types of storms tap into the moisture of the Great Lakes, they can produce locally heavier amounts of snow. That could happen with the first clipper storm on Thursday over parts of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The first clipper storm spread intermittent snow from western and central North Dakota on Wednesday to northeastern South Dakota and central and northern Minnesota during Wednesday night.
Related:
Previously cleared roads became slippery all over again around Fargo, North Dakota, during Wednesday evening and Minneapolis into Thursday morning. The early week storm also blanketed the two cities with fresh snow.
"A general 1-3 inches of snow is forecast over the northern Plains," AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
"As the storm moves through the western Great Lakes, a band of 3-6 inches of snow is likely to occur with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 8 inches," Rayno added.
Steady snow from this first clipper storm is expected to pass north of Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit.
A second clipper will tend to tiptoe across the northern Plains late this week with spotty snow.
Snow amounts will be enhanced by a storm moving northward from the Gulf of Mexico this weekend as the weather-maker arrives in the Great Lakes region.
Depending on how efficiently and quickly the merge of the two systems occurs, a batch of steadier snow or bands of moderate snow may develop rather far to the west around the central and lower Great Lakes region.
In lieu of a general area of accumulating snow, pockets where a coating to a few inches could occur in cities that got missed by the Thursday clipper such as Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland.
Should this scenario unfold, snow would commence on either side of Lake Michigan on Saturday morning and expand eastward into Saturday night, before the Gulf storm lifts into Canada on Sunday.
A brief period of lake-effect snow is likely to follow the storm on Sunday to Sunday night.
Caroling was heard in the midst of snowfall in Painesville, Ohio, Tuesday night. Officials prohibited parking on city streets to allow the plows through safely.
Just enough cold air will be held in place from the northern Plains to the Midwest to set the stage for more winterlike trouble late this weekend to early next week, as the barrage of storms continues this December.
Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast in your area. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo