WeatherFanatics: Blowing Snow Creates Low Visibility, Slick Roads for Detroit, Cleveland

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

January 16,2014; 9:02PM,EST

The second in a round of clipper systems is expected to bring snow to the northern tier of the country Thursday into Friday.
A low in central Canada will dip down and cross over the Great Lakes on Thursday before potentially causing a snowstorm in the Northeast by the weekend.
The weak system is not expected to bring a substantial amount of snow across the Midwest or the Ohio Valley, but even just a light covering could mean slippery travel.

Cities such as Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis could have some travel delays on Thursday.
As of Thursday evening, nearly four inches of snow fell on Marion, Ind., according to a trained spotter. In Leipsic, Ohio, 2.5 inches also fell.
The storm will move farther east Thursday night and Friday and will bring snow to the interior Northeast, including Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
In addition to slick surfaces will be cold air and bitter winds behind the lead of the storm.
Travel delays could also result from strong winds creating poor visibility and extensive blowing and drifting snow. Winds will be blowing steady around 25 mph in some areas, with locally gusty winds topping 50 mph. The wind can be locally damaging, causing flight delays through Friday.
Already by Thursday night, more than 900 flights were delayed or cancelled at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, according to FlightStats. Other airports experiencing delays or cancellations on Thursday were the Minneapolis-St. Paul International, the Sioux Falls Regional and the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airports.
The strongest winds on Thursday will be in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest, affecting I-29 through the Dakotas and western Iowa and parts of I-90 and I-94.
As of Thursday afternoon, a 22 car pileup occurred along I-90, west of Sioux Falls, S.D., according to the Sioux Falls National Weather Service office.
The gusty winds will be highest downwind of the Great Lakes Friday, but could still be strong enough to cause some low visibilities along I-80 from Chicago to central Pennsylvania and along I-90 east of Lake Erie.

A piece of the polar vortex will drop down into the United States, creating plummeting temperatures.
After having frigid low temperatures Thursday night in Minneapolis, with AccuWeather RealFeel® near minus 20, highs on Friday will only reach the single digits.
Wind gusts will have the AccuWeather RealFeel® in the single digits at times for Detroit on Friday.
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AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Brian Thompson said "the cold will not be nearly as bitter as the cold wave that smashed records in places early last week."
This cold surge will instead have a shorter duration and will not be as extreme. However, temperatures will still drop below zero across Minnesota and Wisconsin.
This wave of cold will be one of many in the coming weeks as an active pattern continues across the Great Lakes.

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