By AccuWeather Meteorologist
Published Feb. 1, 2022 11:37 AM EST | Updated Feb. 1, 2022 9:15 PM EST
A robust cross-country storm system is set to unleash a slew of weather impacts ranging from heavy snow, ice and even some severe thunderstorms. The storm will ramp up on Groundhog Day and last into Thursday, covering more than 2,000 miles and at least 19 states.
Winter storm watches stretched from the Rockies to northern New England early Tuesday, while winter storm warnings stretched from the Great Lakes to the southern Plains.
AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter warned that not only will the storm impact around 90 million people in its path but also retailers and consumers, as weather conditions may slow down or even stop a few trucks from transporting goods through parts of the central United States for a few days this week.
Winter storm watches (light blue) are in place from the Southwest to northern New England, while winter storm warnings (dark blue) have been issued for areas from New Mexico to Michigan. (AccuWeather)
"We could be looking at a big mess in moving products to where people and businesses need them as a result of our latest winter storm, and this interruption in the supply chain may be felt for weeks," Porter said.
Travel could become an absolute mess as significant snow and ice strike the center of the nation.
“Motorists with trips that take them through the zone of ice and snow in the middle of the nation should be prepared for substantial delays, dangerous travel and road closures,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. He added that travel will become treacherous across many cross-country highways, including west-to-east interstates 20, 40, 70, 80 and 90, as well as north-to-south interstates 35, 55, 65 and 71.
Rounds of snowfall will bury portions of the Midwest from late Tuesday into Friday. The heaviest snow is expected to accumulate from central Missouri to north-central Illinois, northern Indiana, southeastern Michigan, far northwestern Ohio and the far northern tier of the Northeast.
Columbia, Missouri, and Peoria, Illinois, are likely to receive a foot of snow or more. Farther to the east, Fort Wayne, Indiana; Detroit; and Toledo, Ohio, could all receive a foot or more of snow. Across neighboring areas of Canada, metro areas like Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City are in line to pick up 12-18 inches (30-46 cm) of snow. According to AccuWeather forecasters, several cities will have a shot at breaking various citywide records.
The last time a snowstorm unloaded upwards of a foot of snow in Detroit was back in 2015 when a storm from Feb. 1-2 dropped 16.7 inches of snow. That amount made it rank as the third heaviest snowstorm on record in Detroit. The top snowstorm still stands as the April 6, 1886, storm that unleashed 24.5 inches on the city.
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The winter storm traversing the country this week has a chance at breaking into the top-five heaviest snowstorms to ever occur in Detroit. If the city records more than 14 inches, it will rank in the top five snowstorms.
Detroit may not be the only city flirting with a slot in its top-five highest snowfall events in history. Fort Wayne, Indiana, may also etch a spot in its top-five snowstorm list. The city's airport would need to pick up more than 13.6 inches to surpass the fifth-heaviest snowstorm on record. The last time that Fort Wayne, located about two hours northeast of Indianapolis, was buried by more than a foot of snow was 49 years ago in December of 1973. Fort Wayne is currently forecast to receive 1-2 feet of snow.
Indianapolis will likely not receive enough snow to break into its ranking for top-five snowstorms on record, but it will still receive a considerable snowfall. AccuWeather meteorologists predict the city will pick up 4-8 inches of snow as well as 0.05 to 0.15 of an inch of ice from Wednesday to Thursday. Indianapolis would need to receive more than 12.7 inches of snow in order for this storm to qualify as a top-five snow event.
Forecasters are warning that areas south and east of the corridor slated to receive the heaviest snow will face a wide array of impacts such as major travel delays, power outages, tree damage, along with the potential for major interstate closures as a widespread icing threat looms.
With ice accretions upwards of 0.25 of an inch possible, the threat of downed power lines will increase substantially. A zone of ice accumulations reaching even greater than 0.25 to 0.50 of an inch of ice will be possible across some locations. Thousands could be without power for a period of time by midweek, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.
"Parts of the Ozarks, Ohio and mid-Mississippi River valleys could see over an inch of ice accumulation, which would cause widespread power outages and make travel nearly impossible for a time," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski explained. "Unfortunately, the significant ice storm could impact areas of western Kentucky, which were devastated by a long-tracked EF4 tornado less than two months ago on Dec. 10."
Across parts of the area predicted to pick up dangerous icing, precipitation is likely to change over to snow. That snow can cling to trees and power lines that are already weighed down by the ice. Any breeze that develops in the wake of the storm may potentially lead to further tree and power line damage.
Another danger besides the winter precipitation looms for a large part of the Plains and Midwest: dangerous cold that will threaten hypothermia and frostbite for those who are not dressed properly or do not have proper shelter.
As temperatures plummet with the passage of an Arctic cold front, winds will also increase and usher in even colder AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures that could drop to zero and below as far south as West Texas.
"This Arctic air mass will produce some of the coldest air of the season for places like North Dakota and northern Minnesota by Thursday morning," AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz said.
On Wednesday, 24-hour temperature changes of 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit will be within the realm of possibility from the Upper Midwest to the central Plains before temperatures plummet across the Great Lakes and south-Central United States by Thursday.
"Some areas could experience 24-hour temperature swings as much as 50 degrees. This can lead to a rapid increase in heating demand for a lot of the central U.S," said Benz.
The plunging temperatures will cause areas of slush, soft ice and standing water to freeze solid and make the removal of the wintry precipitation very difficult.
Milder air will linger over areas farther south across the Gulf Coast states, where rain and thunderstorms will soak the region and raise the risk of flash flooding.
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