Snow to visit parts of Midwest, interior Northeast this weekend

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Just enough cold air will sneak in on the back edge of rain to allow snow to fall and whiten some communities from the Great Lakes to the western slopes of the Appalachians this weekend.

Most places will receive rain as the storm tracks from the lower Midwest states to the St. Lawrence Valley with its cold front delivering rain and thunderstorms to other parts of the East into Sunday.

Some of the rain will pour down heavily, threatening to cause localized incidents of flash and urban flooding. This may include in northern New England, where there is a substantial amount of snow on the ground.

On the warmer side of the storm, there is a threat for severe thunderstorms from Kentucky to Mississippi to close out Saturday.

"The combination of enough cold air catching up to the back side of the storm and the intensity of the precipitation increasing should allow allow a swath of snow to develop and spread from northern and central Indiana to northern Ohio, southeastern Michigan, southern Ontario and central Quebec into Saturday night," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.

"Residents of Indianapolis; Detroit, Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio; London, Toronto and Ottawa, Canada, will feel like winter is making a comeback to close out March," she added.

While the exact orientation of the snow will be from southwest to northeast, it is the overall extent and intensity that may vary.

Within the snow area, there is the potential for up to several inches of accumulation. However, most locations are likely to get much less than that.

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Since the snow would be limited to the northwestern edge of the storm, the balance between cold, dry air and moisture must be just right for snow to fall and for that snow to come down hard enough to accumulate.

"The highest snowfall amounts will be measured on grassy and elevated surfaces since the snow will initially melt on warmer paved roads and sidewalks," Pydynowski said. "However, where the snow comes down hard, it can overcome the warmth stored up in the pavement and create slushy and slippery travel."

Untreated surfaces may further become slippery as temperatures plummet overnight.

"Any wet or slushy areas not dried out by the gusty winds can become icy," according to Pydynowski. "Bridges and overpasses would be the first to turn slick."

Outside of this main band of snow, snow showers will develop downwind of the eastern Great Lakes and over the higher terrain of the central and northern Appalachians Saturday night into Sunday.

Several inches can fall to the lee of lakes Erie and Ontario into Sunday night. This includes in Erie, Pennsylvania.

"Light snow that falls during the daylight hours on Sunday will have trouble sticking to roads and sidewalks," according to Pydynowski. "Motorists should remain alert for any heavier snow squalls near the eastern Great Lakes that can quickly coat roads and dramatically reduce visibility."

Dry and chilly air will advance across the Great Lakes later on Sunday and then the rest of the Northeast by Monday.

Dry weather will then hold over much of the Midwest and the Northeast on Tuesday.

However, the longevity of the dry weather along the mid-Atlantic coast may be threatened by a storm on Tuesday night and Wednesday while a feature advances eastward across the Midwest on Thursday as well.

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