Snow to create swath of slippery travel across north-central US into this weekend

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

November 16, 2018, 3:00:02 PM EST

While nothing like the storm that recently clobbered the northeastern United States is in store for much of the Midwest, a narrow batch of snow will streak from the northern Plains to the Great Lakes region with slippery travel into this weekend.

The snow is being triggered by a new push of cold air from Canada. A weak storm is riding along the leading edge of the cold air.

The swath of snow is forecast to extend from the eastern part of the Dakotas to portions of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.

The heaviest snow, on the order of 3-6 inches with locally higher amounts, will focus from parts of the Dakotas to southwestern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa.

Farther east, a general coating to an inch or two of snow may not seem like much. However, a few locations may pick up 3 or 4 inches.

Even a coating of snow is enough, given temperatures near the freezing mark, to create slippery conditions at a time when some people have already begun their Thanksgiving travel journey.

For the details on the timing and amount of snow expected for your area, download the free AccuWeather app.

This is enough snow to trigger deicing operations that may push airlines behind schedule a bit. Airline passengers should expect minor delays.

Keep in mind, because of the big storm in the Northeast spanning Thursday to Friday, many aircraft and crews have been displaced and the ripple effect from this may linger into the weekend.

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Be sure to check with your airline, before heading to the airport for possible changes to your flight.

The timing for the snow is the first part of Friday night around Minneapolis.

On Saturday, the snow will affect the Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit and Buffalo, New York, areas.

A little snow may reach Indianapolis and Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, late Saturday night to Sunday morning.

On Sunday, some rain and snow may linger around Indianapolis and spread to Cleveland and Pittsburgh for a time. While a few wet snowflakes or a dash of sleet may fall on Cincinnati, mostly rain showers are forecast for the Queen City.

How much snow or rain do you think will fall? Click the image above to play Forecaster Challenge and test your weather prediction skills.