Multi-faceted Winter Weather Maker Forecast for Plains to Mid-Atlantic

The ingredients are coming together for a major winter storm to form across the Plains states and into the mid-Atlantic beginning on Saturday. Read on for the details of this developing winter weather maker that will impact over a dozen states in the coming days.

Winter Storm Forecast to Exit the Rockies and Roar Across the Plains

A monster storm is going to unleash a mix of wintry conditions and severe weather to millions of Americans through the weekend and into the early part of next week. The system is forecast to eject out of the Rocky Mountain late Saturday. Forecasters are warning that snow will fall as far south as the northern fringe of Oklahoma with a severe ice storm also a possibility.

The influx of Arctic air will support the development of a wintry mix depending on the location. Plowable snow of over 6 inches is likely in a zone stretching approximately 1,000 miles from the middle of Nebraska and across to Ohio by the time that the new work week begins. A number of major cities are in the impact zone for the disruptive snowfall, including Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati. The greatest amount of snow is expected in an area from northern Missouri and into west-central Illinois.

Complicating the situation further will be the addition of ice to the mix of precipitation. The ice line is likely to set up across some portions of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. While the addition of ice will mitigate the amount of snow that falls, it will create hazardous road conditions at times.

The temperatures in place when the moisture begins to fall will largely determine what areas escape with just rain and who will see ice and snow. A difference of just 20 miles could separate the type of precipitation.

The zone most likely to see dangerous ice or freezing rain will be across the northern Ozark Mountains, the middle Mississippi Valley, and into the Ohio Valley. This includes cities such as Springfield, Missouri and Lexington, Kentucky. In addition to creating dangerous travel conditions, the ice will also bring along the threat of power outages.

Unfortunately for areas that may experience power outages, the coldest temperatures of the year are also on the horizon. A blast of Arctic air is predicted to dive down from Canada in the days ahead, setting off the first of several influxes of frigid temperatures expected for the first few weeks of the year.