Northeast, Midwest face midweek winter storm

by Kristina Pydynowski

Senior Meteorologist

www.AccuWeather.com

Despite a spring-like start to the week, AccuWeather.com reports winter and substantial snow will make a comeback across the Midwest and Northeast at midweek.

A winter storm will take shape across the lower Midwest states Tuesday night and then track into the Northeast and Atlantic Canada Wednesday through Thursday.

The storm will drop a swath of substantial snow along the cold side of its path, threatening to cause yet another round of disruptions to travel and daily routines. Parents should prepare for a day or two of school cancellations in the areas hit the hardest.

The corridor from northern and central Indiana to northern New England has the greatest potential of being targeted by the substantial snow.

While a plowable snowstorm is anticipated across parts of the Midwest and Ohio Valley, the heaviest snow will target interior New England. Totals can exceed 1 foot in northern New England, where near-blizzard conditions may evolve.

Along the northern New England coast, the snow may first mix with or fall as rain.

Motorists can anticipate difficult driving conditions on lengthy stretches of highways and interstates. The snow could come down heavily for a time, quickly clogging roads and making travel treacherous.

Numerous flight delays and cancellations can be expected throughout the lower Midwest and Northeast with potential ripple-effect delays elsewhere in the U.S.

The storm will initially spread mainly rain across communities around the Ohio River and along the I-95 corridor from Providence, R.I., to New York City to Washington, D.C.

However, colder air plunging southward on the back side of the storm may set the stage for the rain to end as a period of snow and/or cause any wet spots on untreated roads and sidewalks to turn icy.

Such danger will unfold across the Ohio Valley on Wednesday, then will shift to the corridor of I-95 that is mentioned above Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

The impending winter storm will come despite a taste of spring across the eastern half of the nation early this week.

As the warmth begins to build throughout the Midwest and East on Monday, the storm - in its beginning stages - will focus its snow on the northern Rockies with amounts topping 6 inches across central Idaho.

The snow will streak southeastward to Iowa through Tuesday evening with amounts lessening to a couple inches. A separate band of snow with similar totals will also drop along the I-25 corridor of southern Wyoming and Colorado during this time.

Tuesday night is when moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will be tapped into and the winter storm will begin to ramp up.