Say It Ain’t Snow: Midwest, East to Get Socked Again.
A complex and intense winter storm will result in dangerous weather across a large portion of the country, from the Plains to the Eastern Seaboard, during the next couple of days, snarling road and air traffic, closing schools and causing power outages.
The dangerous weather will range from blizzard conditions in the Midwest, including Chicago, to a wintry mix in the cities along the Eastern Seaboard and dangerous thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast.
An initial band of snow, mixed with freezing rain, will race eastward through the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic region today and tonight, resulting in moderate accumulations of snow and some travel-related delays.The most intense snow and wind will occur from late tonight into Wednesday as the main part of the storm system gains strength and moves from the southern Plains into the upper Midwest. Snowfall will be more than 16 inches in some locations on the northern and western sides of the storm, where the combination of snow and wind will result in a full-fledged blizzard, with temperatures falling through the 20s.
The major cities in this corridor include Kansas City, Mo., Chicago and Detroit.Close to the track of the storm, a battle between the cold air to the north and unseasonably mild air to the south of the storm will result in a dangerous mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain. A significant buildup of ice — locally more than .50 inches — will result in dangerous travel and the potential for downed trees and power lines.
This icy corridor will extend from the south-central Plains through the Ohio Valley into the mid-Atlantic and parts of the Northeast. The major cities along the Eastern Seaboard will be in the region where a mixture of precipitation will fall.
Washington, D.C., will have the least amount of icy precipitation, with an extended period of rain as temperatures race to near 50 degrees on Wednesday.
The precipitation will likely change over to plain rain for a time even in New York City, which established a monthly record for January snowfall with last week’s storm. The National Weather Service is expecting 2 to 5 inches of snow and perhaps a half-inch of ice before the changeover to ice and rain, however. Boston, being farthest north, is the most likely to have a mainly snow and ice event.From the Deep South to the Carolinas, the air will be much too warm for any frozen precipitation, but the storm will still pack a punch. Gusty thunderstorms — capable of producing flooding downpours, hail and damaging winds — will occur. Isolated tornadoes are even a threat, especially along the Gulf Coast on Tuesday through Tuesday night.
Bitterly cold air will accompany the storm in parts of the Plains and Midwest — daytime temperatures will be below zero as far south as western Nebraska on Tuesday afternoon, and temperatures will fall to below zero in Chicago by Wednesday night.
Subzero temperatures are possible in parts of the Northeast by Thursday night.
