Storm with ice, snow and rain to foil weekend plans in central US
At a time of the year when shopping, setting up outdoor decorations and hunting down the perfect Christmas tree reach a fever pitch, a gathering storm will cause some trouble in the form of snow, ice and rain from parts of the Great Plains to the Midwest this weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
The storm rapidly regrouped across the Plains early this weekend after traversing the Rockies this past week. As moisture is drawn in from the Gulf of Mexico, an area of rain showers from the south-Central states and Mississippi Valley will continue to expand northeastward into colder air as the weekend continues.
A wave of wintry precipitation expanded from the central Plains into areas of the Great Lakes into late Saturday, eventually reaching places Traverse City, Michigan.
Rain expanded from the storm around Chicago and Milwaukee through Saturday, but farther north, a slippery icy mix impacted areas from Rochester, Minnesota into central Wisconsin in the evening hours. Even a thin glaze of ice can be dangerous for motorists and pedestrians.
Places like Omaha, Nebraska, and across southern and eastern Iowa began reporting notable ice accretions on Saturday, with many spots seeing anywhere from a trace to roughly 0.35 of an inch of ice as the storm pushed through.
The maximum observed amount of 0.68 inches was reported Saturday night in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Farther north, around Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Minneapolis and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, from a coating to a couple of inches of snow and sleet will accumulated from the storm through Saturday night, along with areas of dense fog that can slow travel.
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Rain shifted eastward south of the storm track Saturday night over the middle and lower Mississippi Valley, as well as the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.
Precipitation can fall Saturday night to Sunday night around Detroit and Cleveland in these areas, most and perhaps all of the precipitation as rain. Fog and ponding on roads may be the biggest problems for travelers.
As the storm continues on to the Northeast, it will run into a lingering wedge of cold air from the mountains and valleys of the Appalachians to the Piedmont areas just to the east. Depending on how prominent the cold wedge is, snow or an icy mix is forecast from Sunday to Sunday night.
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Milder air originating from the Pacific Ocean will follow the storm from later this weekend to the first half of this week. However, some sneaky cold air may invade around midweek, which could be just enough to produce a narrow band of snow with a storm near the Atlantic coast from Wednesday to Thursday, not unlike that of late this past week in eastern parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys and the eastern Great Lakes.
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