Clipper storms to coat roads in midwestern US with snow into early week
A few fast-moving storms from Canada will coat parts of the Upper Midwest and Northeast with a layer of snow and slippery travel into early week.
The first Alberta clipper storm pushed through the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and central Appalachians during the first half of the weekend.
This clipper was not associated with the storm that brought snow to much of the Atlantic Coast.
This clipper storm and others that follow mark a reinforcement of the cold air.
A second clipper storm will sweep across the upper Great Lakes into Sunday night. This clipper will mainly affect areas downwind of the Great Lakes by revving up the lake-effect snow machine.
A general 3-6 inches of snow with locally higher amounts can pile up downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario. Motorists planning to travel on interstates 81, 86 and 90 in New York should prepare for snow-covered roads and dramatically reduced visibility.
Whiteouts produced by snow squalls are notorious for causing chain-reaction accidents.
The heaviest snow is expected to develop in between Cleveland, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York, and north of Syracuse, New York.
A third clipper storm is forecast to swing through the Midwest on Sunday night and Monday and then the Northeast on Monday night and Tuesday.
Snowfall totals of 1-3 inches may be common across the Midwest, leading to slippery travel. Higher snow totals can be produced in New England if the clipper strengthens along the coast.
Even though some places over the North Central states may miss out on snow from one or two of the events, the chances of encountering some snow and slippery conditions at some point over the next 10 to 14 days will be rather high for the region.
"Waves of cold air and fast-moving storms with snow from Canada will continue into the days leading up to Christmas," according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
Now that cold air and storms are working together, the chances of many areas having some snow on the ground for Christmas is higher than it was looking a couple of weeks ago.
There still will be some issues with back-and-forth, warm versus cold air around the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes that could wipe out the snow in some areas of the North Central states, Pastelok stated.
Report a Typo
