Wave after wave of snow to arrive in Great Lakes, Northeast
December-like cold will continue to set the stage for snow as not one, but two or three rounds of snow will take aim at the northern tier of the U.S. in the coming week.
December-like cold will continue to set the stage for multiple rounds of snow across the northern tier of the United States in the coming days.
Wintry conditions are here to stay in the northern United States as multiple rounds of snow, including a significant lake-effect event, take aim at the Great Lakes and Northeast this week.
A rush of cold air has set the stage for snow to fall as a pair of storms will create a wintry scene in the Great Lakes and interior Northeast. In Minnesota Monday, on-and-off snow conditions were part of a climate where 322 vehicle accidents occurred between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m., according to the Minnesota State Patrol. A later incident, a collision between a school bus and another vehicle, left one person dead in Minnetonka, Minnesota, around 4 p.m. Monday.
Snowfall in Minnesota continued to pile up on Tuesday, with reports of 19.7 inches of snow falling in Covill as of Tuesday evening, as well as 19 inches reported in C.R. Magney State Park and 18.5 inches reported in Hovland.
Snow began across Michigan and Ohio Tuesday morning, reaching portions of Pennsylvania by the afternoon. Several inches of snow coated parts of the Keystone State on Tuesday with Altoona reporting 5.5" of snow and 5.0" in Everett. Snow will continue spreading northward through New England on Wednesday.
A widespread swath of 1-3 inches of snow is forecast from Michigan and mainly northern Pennsylvania up into southern Quebec and Maine, including in cities like Grand Rapids, Michigan; Syracuse, New York; and Bangor, Maine. Higher snowfall amounts are expected in northern New England, where the coldest air will settle in, as well as downwind of the Great Lakes.
As of early Wednesday morning, winter weather advisories were still in effect in parts of northeastern Pennsylvania, large swaths of New York, and parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Winter storm warnings have also been issued for Wednesday in northern Maine, as well as for late-week lake-effect snow downwind of Lake Erie.
An area of 6-12 inches of snow is possible in parts of New York, northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire and northern Maine, where an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 16 inches is possible by the time that snow winds down late Wednesday night. Roadways through the higher terrain are likely to be snow-packed and slippery.
Outside of the higher elevations, snow is most likely to accumulate on grassy, non-paved surfaces. However, even a quick dusting of snow on roads and sidewalks could cause slick conditions.
A swath of wintry mix could also occur from the central Appalachians to portions of southeastern New England with this storm, but significant ice accumulation is not anticipated.
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Across the Northeast, temperatures for most of the Interstate 95 corridor will be too high for snow to fall; instead, accumulating snow will come down across interior areas of the region.
Locations along the Interstate 95 corridor are likely to experience a warmer day Wednesday with temperatures into the middle 50s for some before high temperatures return to the 40s for cities from Boston to Baltimore Thursday.
A reinforcing blast of cold air will spread over the Great Lakes Thursday and into the Northeast into Friday, and the chilly air will usher in December-like conditions for the second half of the week. However, it will not just be the cold air making it feel more like winter in some areas.
"The rush of cold Canadian air across the relatively warmer Great Lakes is likely to bring another round of snowfall, especially downwind of the lakes," said Walker.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that this lake-effect snow event will be the biggest one of the season so far -- and perhaps the most significant in years. The Buffalo, New York, metro area could be particularly hard hit with feet of snow.
Areas outside of New York state could also experience frequent lake-effect snow showers and squalls late this week and into the weekend. One of these areas is Pennsylvania, where the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and other state officials deemed this week Snow Squall Awareness Week to make motorists more cognizant of these quick-arising conditions.
The waves of wintry weather may not end with the workweek. Another push of cold air over the Great Lakes could bring another round of lake-effect snow in time for the weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists say. Additional waves of cold air will allow for more rounds of snow to pile up in the same areas expected to receive snow earlier in the week.
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