WINTER WEATHER Updated Feb. 11, 2020 3:00 PM
A storm that will threaten even more flooding in the already soggy Southern states will collide with the coldest air of the season expected to infiltrate the central and eastern United States, leading to a potentially disruptive snowstorm from portions of the Plains to the Northeast.
Wintry precipitation could impact a 1,500-mile stretch from eastern Kansas to eastern Maine from Wednesday through Thursday.
As the system soaking the South moves northward along the Ohio River Valley on Wednesday, cold air typical of February will be in place across the central Plains and the Ohio Valley -- and enough cold air is expected to allow snow to mix in across eastern Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana as the storm arrives.
"Temperatures will be right around the freezing mark from southeastern Kansas to central and southern Illinois, allowing for snow to mix with rain. The mixing will limit the amount of accumulating snow," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Edwards said, adding that a coating to an inch or 2 is possible in this corridor.
Meanwhile, a widespread swath of 1-3 inches of snow is expected from Kansas City to Green Bay. Higher totals of 3-6 inches are expected from Chicago to Detroit.
Travelers along interstates 35, 55, 57, 88, 90 and 94 may all experience snow-covered roads Wednesday and Wednesday night, and AccuWeather meteorologists warn that drifting snow could cause lingering issues on roadways Thursday as the storm pulls away.
Light snow will overspread the Great Lakes on Wednesday night, as the collision of the storm and a cold front from the north will create gusty winds and blowing snow across parts of the northern Plains and Upper Midwest. High winds will whip snow around, with blowing and drifting of snow reducing the visibility across portions of the Dakotas and Minnesota.
"Strong winds may create blizzard conditions in these areas, allowing visibility to drop below 1 mile due to the blowing snow," Edwards said.
As the storm pushes into the Northeast Wednesday night and Thursday, winds are expected to weaken, which should limit the blowing and drifting of snow across the region.
And, the exact track of the storm as it moves into the Northeast will determine whether enough cold air is in place to bring widespread snow to the region. It may be too warm in some of the major metropolitan areas like Philadelphia, New York and Boston for snow to fall -- a factor that has been causing these cities to miss out on snow during most storms this winter.
Philadelphia has recorded only 2% of its normal snowfall for the season to date, while New York City has measured 32% of average and Boston has seen 56% of the normal snowfall.
Instead, the bull's-eye of heavier snow will stretch from southern Michigan and into interior portions New York state and New England.
"With the storm moving into this area Wednesday night, the likelihood for accumulating snow is higher," Edwards said, adding that more snowfall is likely to pile up at night due to marginal temperatures.
A swath of 3 to 6 inches of snow is forecast for this region, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™️ of 10 inches most likely in the high elevations of northern New England.
The timing of the snow could cause difficult conditions during commutes in portions of the Midwest and Northeast, both Wednesday evening and again on Thursday morning. The heaviest snow could force decision-makers to close schools or call early dismissals and delays.
Motorists along interstates 81, 86, 87, 90 and 91 may face snow-covered roads for a time and slower travel as a result.
RELATED:
Coldest air of the season takes aim for Plains, East this weekStorm Ciara fast-tracks plane flying from JFK to Heathrow in under 5 hours, breaks recordRounds of drenching thunderstorms to raise flood risk across the South into midweekDevastating snowstorm that hit DC 98 years ago still stands as city’s worst ever
Behind storm, frigid air will filter into the U.S., first in the northern Plains, then across much of the Eastern Seaboard by Friday.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will dive down as low as minus 25 F in the Upper Midwest on Thursday morning, and into the single digits across the interior Northeast on Friday morning.
The speed at which cold air rushes in behind the storm will play a role in how far south snow reaches. At the very least, lingering wet areas across the Tennessee Valley may rapidly freeze up following heavy rain and flooding.
Additionally, the cold air rushing across the Great Lakes will allow for some lake-effect snow to develop behind the storm as it departs the Northeast Thursday morning. Snow showers will likely continue downwind of lakes Michigan, Erie and Ontario into early Friday.
Typically by this time of in the season there has been enough cold air to freeze over a larger portion of the Great Lakes, restricting the amount of lake-effect snow that is possible.
As of Feb. 9, total ice cover for the Great Lakes was only at 11.4 percent, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory National Ice Center. On the same date in 2019, over 50% of the Great Lakes had ice coverage, and ice covered over 60% of the lakes in 2018.
The lack of snow ice this year is at least partially attributed to the lack of long-duration cold over the region this winter.
Temperatures have ranged from 6 to 9 degrees above normal from Chicago to Boston since the start of 2020, during what is typically the coldest and snowiest part of winter.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
No comments:
Post a Comment