Snow threatens weekend travel around Chicago, Detroit
A fresh layer of snow will make for challenging travel, shopping and putting up outdoor holiday decorations across parts of the Plains and Midwest over the weekend.
AccuWeather’s Bernie Rayno says, “winter is alive and well,” as Arctic air is expected to spread into the Midwest this weekend before moving next week as another winter storm approaches.
Snow will once again set the holiday mood this weekend for approximately 60 million people from the Plains to the Midwest, accumulating several inches and causing slippery travel, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
The snow will affect the major Midwest airport hubs of Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis.
A swath of accumulating snow, ranging from 1-3 inches, will continue to spread east through Sunday. Forecasters say that accumulating snow will reach portions of the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley from Saturday night to Sunday. A patch where 3-6 inches accumulated Saturday into Saturday night stretched from eastern South Dakota to northern Iowa. This same swath of snow is expected to continue Sunday morning for southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
The snow is forecast to become lighter on Sunday as it spreads over the Ohio Valley. Some areas may get only a dusting or coating of snow as a result. However, even a thin coating can be enough to make roads slippery.
It is possible that a light, icy mix develops just south of the accumulating snow zone from Omaha, Nebraska, and Kansas City, Missouri, to St. Louis through early Sunday.
The snow is expected to reach the Appalachians, from West Virginia to Pennsylvania and New York, on Sunday morning and midday. From there, the snow may become even more spotty in nature, with perhaps the highest chance of a coating to an inch or so of snow over central and northern New England.
Another burst of Arctic air, courtesy of the polar vortex shift, will sweep in behind the snow over the northern Plains on Saturday, the Midwest during Saturday night and Sunday and then the Northeast on Monday. Some areas may get their lowest temperatures of the season so far.
Some areas where snow melts during the day may turn icy as the snowmelt freezes overnight.
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