Icy mix to create treacherous travel across Upper Midwest

Enough wintry precipitation will occur to make some roads slippery and create significant airline delays to end the week, AccuWeather meteorologists say.

The same storm that will bring some rain and mountain snow from Washington to Northern California from Wednesday night to Thursday will pivot across the north-central United States from Friday evening to Saturday. As that storm catches up with the backside of departing Arctic air, some wintry precipitation will unfold that can create dangerous conditions on the highways, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.

As this storm moves across the interior West from Thursday night to Friday, precipitation will tend to be light and spotty. However, as the storm extends east of the Rockies, it will tap into some Gulf of Mexico moisture, and a shield of rain, ice and snow will break out on Friday that will expand toward the Great Lakes region on Friday night and Saturday.

The wintry mix will begin in Omaha, Nebraska, later on Friday and expand quickly to the Northeast Friday night, along the Interstate 80, 90, 94 and 35 corridors, reaching Des Moines, Iowa; Madison, Wisconsin; Minneapolis and Chicago.

A great deal of wintry precipitation is not expected, but there will be enough to make some roads slippery. Even a thin coating of clear ice of slush can greatly increase the chances of accidents.

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No trouble is expected around Chicago’s airports on Friday evening, but just enough wintry mix can prompt deicing operations on Saturday and trigger significant airline delays.

Rain will fall south of the storm track, from much of Missouri to Ohio and southern Michigan, as well as over the Tennessee and lower Mississippi valleys.

As the storm continues to move along on Saturday, the wintry mix may end as a period of wet snow over the central and northern Plains.

The same storm will push into the Northeast over the weekend, where the air may be cold enough in pockets for areas of a wintry mix, ice or all snow in upstate New York and New England.

The air behind the storm is from the Pacific Ocean, so another lake-effect event isn’t anticipated. However, another storm that swings out from the West early next week may be somewhat stronger with gusty winds and just enough cold air to bring heavier snow to part of the western Great Lakes from Monday night to Tuesday and then a period of lake-effect snow from Tuesday to midweek.

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