Snow to slow travel from Chicago to Detroit, Cleveland into Tuesday

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

February 29,2016; 9:12PM,EST

 

 

A storm with rain and snow will disrupt travel and daily routines in the Midwest as March begins.
"Enough rain and snow will fall to cause road conditions to vary from wet to slushy and snow covered with the worst conditions during Tuesday and Tuesday night," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

"Meanwhile, enough snow will fall at the major airports in Chicago and Detroit to lead to airline delays and possible flight cancellations."
The first flakes from the storm, along with a bit of sleet and rain, will develop over parts of the northern and central Plains as colder air arrives into Monday night.
Snow and sleet will tend to be light and spotty from portions of eastern Colorado to Nebraska and South Dakota, Iowa and southern Minnesota.
As the storm moves farther to the east, it will tap moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, causing heavier and steadier snow, rain and a wintry mix.
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Increasing wind and an injection of colder air will cause some blowing snow. However, the storm will likely fall short of evolving into a blizzard.
A zone of moderate accumulating snow will develop over portions of eastern Iowa, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin during Monday night and expand eastward during Tuesday.
The exact track of the storm will determine where the heaviest band of snow develops and the dividing line between rain and snow forms.
At this time, the heaviest snow is likely to fall just north of the Interstate 80, I-90 and near I-94 from Illinois to Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.

Several inches of snow and slippery travel are likely in Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland. Heavy snow will also extend into part of southern Ontario, including London, Hamilton and Toronto. Airline passengers should prepare for possible cancellations and delays.
Just a few dozen miles may mark the difference between mainly wet roads and snow-covered conditions.
"It generally has to snow very hard to accumulate on road surfaces during the midday and afternoon hours during March," Sosnowski said. "However, less-intense snowfall can make roads slippery from the evening to the morning rush hour."
The Tuesday morning commute in Chicago, Milwaukee and Kalamazoo, Michigan, could be slow and difficult as a result. In Detroit, the worst conditions on the roads are likely to be during Tuesday evening. The worst road conditions around Cleveland are likely to be Tuesday night.
Bridges and overpasses will become slippery before other road surfaces, as they tend to cool at a faster rate than the surrounding ground.
South of the snow, rain will soak the middle Mississippi and Ohio valleys on Tuesday into Tuesday night.
The danger of a freeze-up, especially on bridges and overpasses, will expand southward toward the Ohio River as colder air plunges later Tuesday night.
Strong to locally severe thunderstorms will affect part of the middle and lower Mississippi Valley during Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening.
Colder air will settle over the region during the middle of the week and could pave the way for another storm on Thursday.