Arctic surge unleashes dangerous snow squalls from Great Lakes to Appalachians

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Motorists cruising at highway speeds in portions of southern Michigan, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and western and central New York state should be on the lookout for dangerous snow squalls into Tuesday night.

Flurries and snow squalls are being produced by a reinforcing surge of Arctic air that will sweep from the Great Lakes to the Northeast into Wednesday.

"Few, if any, flurries are likely to make the trip past the Appalachians," according to AccuWeather Meteorolgist Steve Travis.

"However, the brief snow squalls can be heavy enough from the Great Lakes to the western slopes of the Appalachians to bring a quick coating of snow," Travis said.

While some of this snow may melt during the afternoon hours on paved surfaces, that will not be the case everywhere.

"Combined with the sudden drop in visibility and road conditions that transition from dry to wet to snow-covered in a couple of minutes, the situation is a hazardous one for motorists on the highways," Travis said.

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Portions of Interstate 80 in western Pennsylvania and Ohio will be a concern. Others include I-79 in western Pennsylvania, I-90 in southern Michigan, northern Ohio and western and central New York state, I-86 in western New York and I-75 in northern Ohio and southern Michigan as well as I-94 and I-96 in southern Michigan.

During Tuesday morning, accidents occurred in southern Michigan along U.S. Route 131 in Allegan County and I-94 near Paw Paw.

Metro areas of Detroit and Lansing, Michigan; Pittsburgh and Erie, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Toledo and Youngstown, Ohio; and Buffalo, Watertown and Rochester, New York; are among the places where travellers will have to watch for slippery conditions.

While flurries and bands of lake-effect snow may linger in parts of Michigan and New York state later Tuesday night and Wednesday, a push of drier air is forecast to end the snow squall threat for most places.

Download the free AccuWeather app to stay up to date on the latest expected snowfall amounts in your area.