WeatherFanatics: Sunday Snowstorm Looms for Midwest; Possible Blizzard for Appalachians

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Sunday Snowstorm Looms for Midwest; Possible Blizzard for Appalachians

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

January 2,2014; 9:38PM,EST

Yet another snowstorm will slam into the Midwest by the end of the weekend and will be followed by brutally cold air early next week. As bitterly cold air charges in, blizzard conditions could develop in some areas.
A cold front will approach the Great Lakes late Saturday and will set the stage for cold and snow around Chicago and Detroit on Sunday.
A new storm center will form along the front in the Mississippi Valley late on Sunday, bringing another snowstorm to the Great Lakes and parts of the Northeast.

Although there is still some discrepancy as to where exactly the low will track once it develops, the heaviest corridor of snow looks to extend from western Tennessee, northeastward through the Ohio Valley, into the eastern Great Lakes and to southern Ontario for the start of the week.
Cities that could be hit by a sudden blinding snow, plunging temperatures and a quick freeze include Nashville, Tenn.; Lexington, Ky.; Cincinnati; Morgantown, W.Va.; Pittsburgh; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Toronto, Ontario. Travel along I-40, I-64 and I-65 could be difficult Sunday night.
As lake-effect blends in with the general storm, some bands of intense snowfall are likely.
According to Senior Meteorologist Dale Mohler, "Blizzard conditions may develop from eastern Ohio to West Virginia, western Maryland, western Pennsylvania Sunday night and Monday, and in western New York Monday into Tuesday."

Whiteout conditions are possible in these areas with strong winds, plunging temperatures and heavy snowfall rates.
"Major interstate highways including I-79, I-80, I-81, I-90 and Route 219 could close down for a time due to the intense conditions Monday into Tuesday," Mohler added.
Some people could be caught off guard and stranded by the storm.
A dangerous cold wave will blast in its wake. The new wave of frigid air will reach the I-95 Northeast on Monday.

Temperatures in Chicago are not expected to exceed zero degrees on Monday with Detroit experiencing afternoon highs in the single digits Monday and Tuesday.
According to Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, "The last time Chicago was this cold was during early February of 1996, where temperatures remained below zero around the clock for a couple of days."
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Lows Monday night in Binghamton, N.Y., and Pittsburgh will drop well below zero with highs in the single digits Tuesday.
January typically bring the lowest average temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere. Combined with less sunlight and a growing snowpack, the first month of the year can bring some downright frigid air. However, occasional bouts of frigid air with some of the coldest nighttime lows can occur well into February.

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