1,500 Mile Storm

From AccuWeather:

“Massive winter storm eyes 1,500-mile stretch of US”

A winter storm began unleashing snow and a wintry mix from the central Plains to the Ohio Valley on Monday, and forecasters say its impacts will be far-reaching and multifaceted as it continues to run into Arctic air early this week. Forecasters expect the storm to leave accumulating snowfall along a 1,500-mile-long stretch of the central and eastern United States, and a buildup of ice in parts of those regions that could leave some areas in the dark. AccuWeather meteorologists are predicting an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 20 inches of snow. The configuration of the storm will cause wintry precipitation to fall at much of the same time for portions of the Central and Northeastern states. As a result, the nearly simultaneous storm for both regions will create a travel nightmare both on the roads and at the airports with major delays and flight cancellations anticipated. Travel conditions will deteriorate from west to east along the Interstate 70 and 80 corridors of the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic regions into Tuesday. "Travel Tuesday morning in areas from New York City to Philadelphia could be delayed," AccuWeather Meteorologist Rob Richards said.

The storm is expected to bring all snow to the major cities of Omaha, Nebraska; Des Moines, Iowa; Chicago; Detroit; and Hartford, Connecticut. Omaha and Des Moines face some of the heaviest snowfall from the winter storm, with close to a foot of accumulation. Several inches of snow are forecast for Chicago, enough snow to make roads slippery. "Chicago has received only about 50% of its normal snowfall so far this season, picking up 8.6 inches through Jan. 24," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said. "Following this storm, Chicago could be close to their normal snowfall levels for this season to date," Sojda said. Meanwhile, New York City will likely trend above average in the wake of this storm. As of Jan. 25, 10.5 inches of snow have fallen on the Big Apple which is 0.1 of an inch above average.

Ice is another component of the storm with freezing rain and or sleet expected to occur from Kansas to New Jersey. Central Illinois to west-central Ohio could pick up between 0.10 and 0.25 of an inch of ice buildup on trees and power lines with sporadic power outages possible. However, in parts of the central Appalachians, which includes northeastern West Virginia, northwestern Virginia, western Maryland and part of south-central Pennsylvania, even higher amounts of 0.25 to 0.50 of an inch of ice can accrue, which will weigh down trees and branches that can lead to power outages. Along a large portion of the I-70 corridor, rain will fall at the height of the storm in the Central states, but there will still be episodes of snow and ice. In portions of Kansas and northern Missouri, the rain and ice are forecast to end as a period of snow. Cold air will put up more resistance in the East, where a prolonged icing event will unfold across parts of the Appalachians. Even a thin glaze of ice or a small amount of snow can make for dangerous driving and walking conditions. Meteorologists are urging people to avoid traveling if possible until the storm has passed and crews have had a chance to clear off roads. A wintry mix is predicted in Cleveland, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, New York City, Pittsburgh, Boston, Kansas City, Missouri, Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. All or mostly rain is expected from this storm in St. Louis, Cincinnati and Richmond, Virginia. Washington, D.C. received 0.3 of an inch of snow on Monday, which was the first accumulating snow of the 2020-2021 winter season. Typically, the first measurable snow (0.1 of an inch or more) occurs a few days before Christmas. Farther south, warm and moist air helped to spawn severe weather on Monday night, including a thunderstorm that produced a damaging tornado in Alabama.

The storm with its snow and ice is forecast to wind down from west to east later Tuesday to early Wednesday. However, another sneaky storm on its heels is anticipated to track farther to the south on Wednesday with snow possible in areas that will be missed by wintry precipitation from the early-week storm. More winter storms are expected to roll in from the Pacific Ocean and into California through the end of the month and push inland, keeping the weather pattern quite active in the U.S. That will potentially set the stage for more snow and ice events in the Central and Eastern states lasting into early February.

^ I don’t mind the snow, but hate the ice. ^

https://news.yahoo.com/massive-winter-storm-eyes-1-163458654.html