WeatherFanatics: Weekly Wrap Up: Winter Weather Causes Deadly Pileups Across Midwest, East

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Weekly Wrap Up: Winter Weather Causes Deadly Pileups Across Midwest, East

By Michael Kuhne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

January 11,2015; 10:37PM,EST

With a blast of frigid air, and wintry weather gripping much of eastern U.S. this week, poor road conditions have led to several multi-vehicle collisions and burdensome travel across several major transportation routes.
On Wednesday, whiteout conditions caused a deadly vehicle pileup near Clarion Township, Pennsylvania, along I-80.
Another incident caused by whiteout conditions occurred Wednesday on US-31 in Muskegon County, Michigan. Dozens of vehicles were reported to be involved with two individuals severely injured, according to local news sources at the time.
On Friday, a deadly pileup shut down both lanes of I-94 in Michigan near Battle Creek amid wintry weather.
"There were heavy lake-effect snow squalls in the area Friday morning and midday, originating from off of Lake Michigan," AccuWeather.com Expert Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
"The nature of these squalls would be to quickly coat roads and bring a sudden reduction in visibility."
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In addition to gusty winds and snow across the eastern U.S., AccuWeather RealFeel ® Temperatures plunged to minus 40 F from Minnesota to upstate New York and northern New England during the middle of the week.
Chicago, Minneapolis and Omaha Public School Districts were among the bunch Wednesday as temperatures dipped far below freezing in the early morning hours. Chicago Public Schools remained closed on Thursday.
"The safety and well-being of our students comes first," Chicago Public School District CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said. "The frigid temperatures and winds make a dangerous combination, and it is in the best interest of our students to cancel classes."
Even in the southern cities of Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Birmingham, Alabama, RealFeel Temperatures dipped below zero for a time Wednesday into Thursday.
While temperatures stopped short of record low levels in most areas, a few daily record lows were matched or broken from Vermont to North Carolina.
Temperatures dipped to minus 1 F in Boston on Thursday morning, making it the city's coldest morning since Jan. 24, 2011.
Several AccuWeather.com Meteorologists and Staff-Writers contributed content to this article.

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