Winter Storm Thor: Snow, Sleet, Ice Mess In South, Midwest, East (FORECAST)

Linda Lam
Published: March 3,2015




 

A final swath of snow, sleet and freezing rain will lead to dangerous travel from the Southern Plains into the Ohio Valley and East starting Wednesday.
There is also the risk of heavy rain, which brings the threat of flooding, before the rain changes to snow.

Winter Alerts

Current Radar

The second chapter of Winter Storm Thor spread snow and a little ice into parts of the Midwest and Northeast Tuesday.
Winter storm watches and warnings have been hoisted in parts of the South and Ohio Valley, ahead of Thor's final phase beginning Wednesday.
All told, more than 100 million people – were under some kind of watch, warning, or advisory for winter weather related to Winter Storm Thor as of Tuesday evening.
The daily forecast details from coast-to-coast are below.

Into Wednesday Morning

Winter Storm Thor will interact with energy from the northern branch of the jet stream, producing a widespread swath of snow and ice in the Midwest and Northeast.
(FORECASTS: Minneapolis | Chicago | Pittsburgh |
Washington, DC)
Thor will be warmer than this past weekend's storm, but sufficiently cold conditions will still be in place in the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, Upstate New York and northern New England, where the greatest chance for moderate snowfall accumulations will be found.
(MORE: Winter Storm Thor Impacts)
Through early Wednesday morning, snow changing to sleet, freezing rain, or rain will push through the I-95 corridor of the Northeast. In the interior Northeast, snow, sleet or freezing rain will persist a bit longer into the overnight hours.
Rain, with perhaps even a rumble of thunder, is possible into early Wednesday from the Ohio Valley into the Mid-South region. This rain could be locally heavy, with 1 to 3 inches of rain possible.
Due to this incoming rain, saturated ground from recent rain, as well as snowmelt adding to water levels in creeks, streams and rivers, flood watches are in effect from parts of Arkansas to western Pennsylvania.
(MAP: Interactive Flood Alerts)
Meanwhile, snow will persist over the central and southern Rockies, including the San Juans and Sangre de Cristos of Colorado and New Mexico, the Mogollon Rim of Arizona and canyonlands of southern Utah. The mountains of southwest Colorado may end up with snow totals of up to 4 feet by the time the storm is finished there by early Wednesday.

Wednesday - Thursday

Wednesday's Forecast

Thursday Forecast

Snowfall Forecast

That's not all, folks. The arctic front will gradually push to the south and east. At the same time, an active jet stream and moisture will intercept this sagging front.
As our forecast map for Wednesday shows, a change to snow, sleet or freezing rain is forecast to occur in a swath from the Ohio Valley to the Tennessee Valley and into the Southern Plains.
(FORECASTS:  Cincinnati | Nashville | Little Rock | Dallas)
In some places temperatures will fall rapidly during the day Wednesday, causing rain to change over to wintry forms of precipitation and eventually all snow. (This is why you may be seeing puzzling combinations such as "icy, high 47" on the forecast map.) The rapid fall in temperatures could cause wet roads to turn into a sheet of ice while a significant amount of snow falls onto them.
If you have travel plans, bear in mind that roads may be difficult to treat as snowplows may be able to remove the snow, but not the sheet of ice underneath.
Wednesday night into Thursday, this wintry band spreads into the East. Lingering freezing drizzle or sleet is possible early in the day in parts of the Deep South and Southeast. A band of sleet and freezing rain is possible from the Piedmont of the Carolinas to southern Virginia.
(FORECASTS: Birmingham | Richmond)
Meanwhile, accumulating snow is possible Thursday from the Appalachians northward up the I-95 urban corridor, making for a potentially tricky pair of commutes from Boston to Washington, D.C.
(FORECASTS: Washington | Philly | NYC | Boston)
However, here's a general snow and ice outlook for Thor Wednesday into Thursday:

• Heaviest snow potential: 6 inches of snow or more is possible for parts of southern Missouri, southern Illinois, far southern Indiana, Kentucky, far northern Tennessee, southern Ohio and West Virginia eastward into the Delaware Valley and New Jersey. Parts of the Ohio Valley may see up to a foot of snow, locally.
• Accumulating snow will also blanket parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma, north Texas and the Texas Panhandle, southern Kansas as well as the southern Rockies and adjacent High Plains.
• Ice potential: Some accumulations likely from north, perhaps central Texas to parts of Arkansas, northern Louisiana, Mississippi, northern Alabama, Tennessee into southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. It remains unclear how much of this falls as sleet vs. freezing rain. Sleet accumulations may top 1 inch from parts of Arkansas and far northern Louisiana to the central Appalachians.
• Impacts: Roads may become treacherous and locally impassable in the southern Plains and Ozarks Wednesday and in the Mid-South and parts of the Ohio Valley by later Wednesday. Lingering icy roads possible into Thursday in ice-affected areas. Power outages and downed tree limbs are possible in areas where freezing rain is most persistent.

The forecast will continue to be updated over the next few days so check back with us at weather.com and The Weather Channel.
(MAPS: Weekly Planner)

Recap So Far: Winter Storm Thor

Here are some select snow totals from Winter Storm Thor as of Tuesday evening:
California:
- 32 inches snow at Squaw Valley
- 24 inches snow at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort
- 13 inches snow at Donner Peak
- Hail was reported in Grass Valley (0.5"), San Jose (0.25"), and Fresno (0.25")
Thor brought rain in the lower elevations and snow in the mountains of the West, including California this past weekend. Thunderstorms even coated parts of the San Francisco Bay Area with hail Saturday and Orange County on Monday.
(PHOTOS: California Beach Covered By Hail)
Nevada:
- 24 inches snow at Diamond Peak Ski Resort
- 16 inches snow at Mount Rose Ski Area
- 7.5 inches snow at Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort at 9200 feet elevation

Arizona:

- 12 inches snow near Parks
- 11 inches at the Arizona Snowbowl
- 8.6 inches snow in Flagstaff
New Mexico:
- 21 inches snow at Taos Ski Area (partially snow from Winter Storm Sparta)
- 14 inches snow near Gallina
- 9.6 inches snow in Albuquerque (partially snow from Winter Storm Sparta)

Colorado:
- 54.6 inches snow at Schofield Pass (partially snow from Winter Storm Sparta)
- 52 inches snow near Wolf Creek Pass (partially snow from Winter Storm Sparta)
- 36.4 inches snow at Red Mountain Pass
- 11 inches snow at Molas Pass
Utah:
- 49 inches at Buckboard Flat
- 40.6 inches snow at Camp Jackson
- 19.6 inches at Buckboard Flat
- 9.5 inches snow in Boulder
Wyoming:
- 18 inches on Casper Mountain
- 12 inches near Casper
- 5 inches in Rawlins
- 3.8 inches in Lander
Minnesota:
- 6.5 inches near Alexandria
- 6 inches in Carlos
- 4 inches in Brainerd
- 3 inches near Duluth
South Dakota:
- 5 inches near Porcupine
- 3.5 inches in Deadwood
- 3 inches near Watertown
Wisconsin:
- 6 inches in Iron River
- 6 inches near East Farmington
- 5.9 inches near Bayfield
- 3.5 inches in Kenosha
Illinois: 
- 3.4 inches near Freeport
- 2.1 inches in Rockford
- 0.2 inch ice accumulation in Kankakee
- 0.1 inch ice accumulation in Peoria
Michigan:
- 4 inches near Copper City
- 3.5 inches in Ironwood
- 0.23 inch ice accumulation near Saline
- 0.1 inch ice accumulation in Sandstone
Pennsylvania:
- 3.2 inches Great Bend
- 2 inches in Danielsville
- 1.5 inches in Albrightsville
New Jersey
- 2 inches in Montague
- 1.5 inches in Highland Lakes
New York
- 3.8 inches in Cortland
- 2.5 inches in Whitesboro
Connecticut
- 2 inches in Staffordville
- 1.6 inches Tolland
MORE: Winter Storm Thor (Photos)