Snow and ice to precede larger late-week storm in central, eastern US
Snow and ice will bring areas of slippery travel to the northern tier at midweek before a large late-week storm spreads rain, snow and thunderstorms with major travel problems across much of the central and eastern U.S.
In today’s Forecast Feed, Bernie Rayno takes a look at a storm coming later this week.
The coldest air is retreating from much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation. However, enough cold air will linger and work with a storm to deliver snow and ice to the Upper Midwest and Northeast around midweek. A larger and more impactful storm later in the week is expected to reintroduce colder air to portions of the region.
Northern tier faces yet another round of snow, ice
Near and south of Interstate 80, the air is expected to be too warm for snow or ice and generally too dry for widespread drenching rainfall as a storm moves east along the northern tier. A few rain showers mixed with sleet are most likely along Interstate 80 across the higher terrain of Pennsylvania.
Farther north, pockets of slippery travel are expected, especially on untreated roads and elevated surfaces.
An icy mix of sleet, freezing rain and snow is expected from Minnesota through much of Wisconsin, northern and central Michigan, upstate New York and central New England.
Even light ice buildup can lead to dangerous travel conditions, particularly on untreated roads.
Just enough cold air is expected to support accumulating snow from near the shores of Lake Huron eastward across southern Quebec, northeastern New York and northern New England.
A general snowfall of 1–6 inches is forecast across this zone, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches possible in portions of south-central Ontario, the Green and White Mountains of New England and southeastern Quebec near the U.S. border.
Much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation is expected to experience a break from the recent cold this week. Temperatures may challenge daily records from Texas and the southern Plains into the Southeast into Wednesday, then along the southern Atlantic Seaboard on Thursday.
Western US storm to affect dozens of states east of Rockies late this week
A cross-country storm bringing rain and snow to the West on Tuesday is expected to dip toward Texas on Thursday before tracking toward the Great Lakes region on Thursday night.
This lead storm of a duo will be the smaller of the two for the latter part of the week. A coating to a couple of inches of wet snow are forecast from northern Iowa to northern Michigan.
A second part of and the main body of the storm will follow in about 24 hours.
As this large storm moves along, it will carry Pacific moisture and then tap into additional moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. This setup is expected to produce a large swath of precipitation—from thunderstorms and heavy rain to snow and ice—across the central United States from Friday to Saturday.
Severe thunderstorms are possible across eastern Oklahoma, northeastern Texas, far southeastern Kansas into parts of the lower Mississippi and Ohio valleys from Thursday into Friday.
Some of the rain will be heavy enough to lead to flash flooding in urban and poor drainage areas on Friday, especially from northeast Louisiana and western Mississippi to south-central Kentucky.
During the weekend, additional gusty to severe thunderstorms may affect portions of the Southeast.
The exact location of the transition between rain, a wintry mix and snow across the Plains will depend on the storm’s track.
Farther east, the expansion of warmer air ahead of the storm may confine any wintry mix mainly to northern Maine.
As travel conditions improve from Tuesday to Wednesday over much of the Central and Eastern states, they are likely to deteriorate from Friday to Saturday, including at the airports.
Colder air to fight back by the weekend
The storm is expected to finish up in the Northeast late in the week, but it could slow as another storm approaches and tries to merge with it.
As colder air moves into the Great Lakes region from Friday into Saturday, strengthening winds may cause rain to change to accumulating snow, with the potential for another round of heavy lake-effect snow.
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