Midweek Snow Event Will Blanket Several Midwest Cities

It is now the Midwest's turn to be under the wrath of Mother Nature as yet another winter storm dumps significant snowfall across some of the region's biggest population centers. Read on for the details of the latest winter storm to roar across the U.S.

Timing of Midweek Winter Storm

Another snowstorm is gearing up to bury several Midwest cities and towns in the hours ahead. Forecasters are predicting that travel will be severely impacted both on the roads and in the air as the storm blasts through the nation's heartland.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a number of weather alerts for ice and snow for an area stretching from the base of the Colorado Rockies to the central Plains states and the Great Lakes. In total, over 20 states are likely to see some degree of impact from this system.

This midweek weather event is coming right on the heels of an early week storm that sent several inches of fresh snowfall to cities such as Louisville and Washington, D.C. The next system is expected to track farther to the north, bringing the impacts to the busy Interstate 70, 80, and 90 corridors across the central U.S.

The latest model updates indicate that the storm will erupt later in the day Tuesday. Drizzle and light freezing rain will be some of the first impacts, potentially hitting the Texas Panhandle and the western and central portions of Oklahoma before reaching the Ozark Mountains in Missouri and Arkansas overnight.

The storm will churn through the Midwest and the Great Lakes on Wednesday. Another round of icing resulting from freezing rain and sleet could present problems in cities such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa and over into southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. There is also the threat of sleet and freezing rain for Baltimore and Washington, D.C. as this line of mixed moisture progresses.

The system will reach the northern reaches of New England by late Wednesday and into Thursday. Metro areas such as Boston and New York City may see snow that eventually switches forms to a wintry mix before transitioning to all rain.

The line of accumulating snowfall will stretch from the Colorado Front Range for almost 2,000 miles, eventually reaching Maine. This large impact zone will translate to significant travel disruptions at some of the busiest airport hubs in the country.

How Much Snow to Expect

Meteorologists believe that this storm could end up being the most disruptive of the winter season thus far for many Midwest urban centers. For instance, the largest winter storm to impact Chicago this season happened on January 10 when 2.2 inches was recorded at O'Hare International Airport.

The Windy City has seen only 10 inches of snow so far this winter. This compares to its seasonal average of 24.5 inches by this time in the season. It is a similar story for other cities in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes. For instance, Minneapolis is sitting at 44% of its average snowfall as of February while Milwaukee is at 39% and Detroit is at 56%.

Conversely, Kansas City is recording over the historical average by about 3 to 6 inches in different measuring stations in the metro area. The incoming snowstorm will send this number even higher than the average. For example, Kansas City is now expecting 1 to 3 inches overnight Tuesday with another 1 to 3 inches in store on Wednesday. Highs will top out at about 24 degrees on Wednesday while lows will slide to about 6 degrees.

The latest weather menace is forecast to result in widespread snowfall accumulations of 6 to 12 inches in the hardest hit areas. Locally higher amounts are a good possibility. Snow of this magnitude will inevitably lead to flight cancellations and delays at major airports in the region, including the busy hubs of Chicago and Detroit.

Slightly warmer temperatures to the south will mean that the moisture will fall as a wintry mixy or ice. A zone from central Oklahoma to the east into the central and southern Appalachians and up into central New England could see a variety of precipitation impacts.

It could be the second shot of ice in a period of less than 48 hours for some communities. The ice buildup will raise the chance of hazardous travel and power outages. The threat of ice is of most concern in an area through West Virginia and over into the western fringe of Virginia along the Interstate 81 corridor.

Rain in the Forecast for the Warmer Side of the Storm

Warmer conditions across the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic will push the moisture to fall as rain. This is good news for the swath of land that saw snow to start the week. For example, Indianapolis is forecast to dodge the bulk of the wintry impacts and see mostly rain on Wednesday. Temperatures that fall into the mid 20s overnight will raise the threat of some wintry mix sneaking into the city if there is any left moisture left in the air.

However, the rain and the milder air temperatures will set up over areas that still have snow on the ground, leading to the formation of thick fog. This fog is likely to be dense enough to impact air travel from the Ohio Valley and through the northeastern U.S.

Conditions will improve by the end of the work week but another system is on the way for the central and eastern U.S. by the week. This system is going to push through the western U.S. after forming in the Pacific Ocean before tracking to the east. The latest forecast model runs indicate that this weekend event could be the strongest of the week, likely tracking farther to the south as it moves from west to east.

Because of the more southerly journey, the system is expected to usher in severe thunderstorms thanks to the moisture-rich air and warmer temperatures in this part of the country. Flash flooding will also be a concern throughout the weekend in the south-central states and the Southeast.

At least two additional storms are on the horizon for next week as the active weather pattern persists. You will want to stay abreast of all of these possibilities given the uncertainty of the forecast.

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