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Another winter storm is unleashing its fury across the central U.S., bringing heavy snow and ice to portions of the Plains and Midwest, forcing officials to close state offices and schools and prompting warnings to delay travel if possible.
This latest round of inclement weather comes just as the mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley clean up after a storm system brought snow and ice to those regions and days after a winter storm slammed portions of the Northeast and New England last weekend.
The FOX Forecast Center is also monitoring the development of another storm system that is expected to slam dozens of states over the upcoming weekend.
Just like what we experienced with the system earlier this week, this midweek winter storm is once again bringing snow to the Plains and Midwest, but there will be a lot more of it this time around.
The FOX Forecast Center said that heavy snow is possible from Kansas City, Missouri, to Chicago and Detroit in the Great Lakes region on Wednesday as the area of low pressure rapidly strengthens.
Out of all the storm systems the FOX Forecast Center has been tracking this week, this one looks to be the one that could be the snowiest in terms of totals and coverage.
Snowfall rates of about an inch per hour are expected to produce at least 4 inches of total snow accumulation from central Kansas northeastward through much of lower Michigan, including Kansas City, Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, this winter storm could be the biggest snowstorm of the season so far for several Midwest cities, including Chicago and Detroit.
The biggest single storm for Chicago was 2.2 inches on Jan. 10, while Detroit picked up 4.3 inches between Jan. 10 and 12.
Many Midwest cities are falling behind when it comes to snowfall totals this winter.
Chicago, for example, is more than 15 inches below average, while Milwaukee sits about 20 inches below average.
Forecasters are concerned about more than snow; ice could also become an issue in Oklahoma, Missouri and parts of Ohio.
Thundersnow was also reported in Oklahoma City and Norman, Oklahoma, early Wednesday morning.
A wide swath of the U.S. from the Intermountain West through the Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes region are under some sort of winter weather alert as the storm ramps up.
Winter Storm Warnings are in effect from Kansas and southern Nebraska to western Illinois and eastern Wisconsin. Winter Weather Advisories cover Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis.
An Ice Storm Warning has also been issued for portions of Ohio, including Toledo.
As the storm moves into the Northeast and New England on Thursday, it will bring with it some warmer air from the south.
That will lead to a mixed bag of precipitation types, including snow, sleet, freezing rain and just plain rain.
Snow will likely fall on the storm’s onset before it quickly changes over for nearly everyone in the Northeast, except for those closer to the U.S.-Canada border.
A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for northern Maine due to the threat of up to a foot of snow.
To the south of the heavy snow, a winter mix and ice will occur from the central Appalachians into central New England. Ice accretions of up to a tenth of an inch will lead to treacherous travel conditions across the region for the Thursday morning commute.
The major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor, like New York City and Philadelphia, may see some snowflakes before changing over to rain.
