Winter Storm Decima's Mess of Snow and Ice Spreading Across the Midwest, Mid-South, and New England: Timing the Impacts

December 17,2016
Winter Storm Decima – pronounced DEH-si-mah – is spreading its snowy, icy mess into the Midwest, East and Mid-South this final weekend before Christmas.
A swath from the mid-Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley may experience their first ice accumulations of the season just ahead of the Christmas travel rush.
(MORE: The Science Behind Naming Winter Storms | 2016-2017 Winter Storm Names)
Below is the latest status and forecast information for Decima, followed by a recap of the storm so far.
(INTERACTIVE: Winter Storm Decima Tracker)

Decima Latest Status and Forecast

In the East, a potpourri of winter weather advisories, freezing rain advisories and winter storm warnings have been issued. Light snow, freezing rain, or sleet may make travel dangerous.

Current Winter Alerts

(Latest News: Pileups on Icy Roads in the Mid-Atlantic)
Freezing rain could make some roads slick from Illinois, Indiana and southern Ohio to northern North Carolina, the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Northeast. Ice accumulations are generally expected to be light, but they could be high enough to cause slick roads especially on overpasses.

Current Radar, Temperatures, Conditions

These wintry conditions are due to energy from a southward digging jet-stream dip that spawned an area of surface low pressure in the Plains. This area of low pressure is tracking northeastward this weekend through Ohio Valley and Northeast.
Moisture from this system will overlap with cold air to its north and from high pressure in the eastern states to make conditions ripe for the potential of snow, sleet and freezing rain in a large area.
A brief bought of severe weather is ongoing on Decima's southern side where warm air is clashing with well below normal temperatures.
(MORE: Winter Storm Central | Extended Forecast Maps)

Sunday

Sunday's Forecast

• As the cold front slices into the East, any rain will change to a brief bout of light snow or a wintry mix in the Ohio Valley, Appalachians and parts of the interior Northeast well inland from Interstate 95.
• Near Interstate 95 from southern New England into Virginia, precipitation should end as mainly rain by late in the day Sunday.
• A few storms are possible across portions of the South with the trailing cold front. 
• Wrap around winds may assist the Upper Great Lakes in producing lake-effect snow especially east of Lake Michigan.
• Cities: Pittsburgh | Albany | Boston | New York | Washington D.C.

How Much Additional Snow, Ice?

Central/East

• Some lighter snow accumulations are possible in the cold air as the storm exits from the central Plains to the Ohio Valley and interior Northeast into Sunday.
• Lake-effect snow will bring snowfall totals of 1-4 inches downwind of lakes Superior, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario into portions of the Midwest and interior Northeast. 

Additional Central/East Snowfall Forecast

Ice Accumulations

• A round of sleet or light freezing rain is possible Saturday night into Sunday in parts of the Ohio Valley and Tennessee Valley.
• This could lead to icy stretches on some untreated roads, particularly bridges and overpasses.
• This does not appear to be a widespread, major ice storm, given warmer air expected to intrude northward, but some colder valley locations in Tennessee, Kentucky, the interior Northeast and northern New England may see more ice accumulations capable of some power outages and tree damage. 
• It should also be noted the threat of a flash freeze is significant in areas that see rain, followed by the cold front into Sunday. Rapidly cooling temperatures could quickly freeze objects with remaining rain or freezing rain on them. 

Forecast Model Potential Ice Accumulation

Incidentally, Decima was one of the Fates in Roman mythology.

Storm Recap

Decima delivered an ice storm to parts of Oregon's Willamette Valley, Wednesday. Up to 0.88 inches of accumulated ice lead to widespread tree damage, downed power lines and even some trees down on homes in Eugene.

Farther north, light snow lead to a mess on the roads for the second week in a row in the Portland, Oregon, metro area.
A deadly accident, likely due to icy roads, occurred Saturday morning on I-95 northbound near Baltimore after a tanker truck fell off an Interstate 95 bridge and exploded. Both sides of the interstate were shut down due to this 55-car pileup.
(Earlier this Week: Winter Storm Decima Triggers Avalanche in Oregon, Cripples Evening Commute)
On Thursday, Decima produced wind gusts of 60-121 mph in some typically wind-prone and high-elevation locations near the California and Nevada border. A semi-truck was blown over by the high winds near Washoe City, Nevada.
Here are a few notable snow and ice reports from Decima by state, so far, through Saturday evening:

• California: Kirkwood: 18 inches; Squaw Valley: 6 inches
• Colorado: Skyway: 33 inches; Mount Crested Butte: 23.5 inches; Breckenridge: 16.2 inches
• Connecticut: Norfolk: 8.0 inches; Weatogue: 7.3 inches
• Idaho: Ketchum: 35.4 inches; Mackay: 29.9 inches; Galena: 14.0 inches; Salmon: 7 inches
• Iowa: Ringsted: 9.0 inches; Lester: 7.3 inches; Superior: 7.0 inches
• Maine: Wellington: 6.5 inches; Bangor: 6.0 inches
• Massachusetts: Hardwick: 8.0 inches; Southwick: 7.8 inches
• Michigan: Near Negaunee: 9.7 inches
• Minnesota: Jackson: 10.0 inches 
• Montana: West Yellowstone: 33.6 inches; Big Timber: 19 inches; 13 inches near Stevensville; 11 inches in Billings
• Nebraska: Harrison: 9.0 inches
• Nevada: Near Kings River Valley: 9 inches
• New Hampshire: Peterborough: 7.0 inches; Nashua: 6.0 inches
• New Jersey: Montague: 5.0 inches
• New Mexico: Canon Plaza: 16 inches; Arroyo Seco: 14 inches
• New York: Cheektowaga: 10.8 inches; Buffalo: 9.1 inches
• Ohio: Orwell: 6.0 inches
• Oklahoma: Boise City: 1.0 Inch
• Oregon: Near La Pine: 21 inches; Bend: 17 inches; Salem: up to 5 inches; Portland (NWS office): 2.3 inches
• Pennsylvania: Leonard Harrison: 3.5 inches
• Rhode Island: Burrilville: 5.0 inches
• South Dakota: Murdo: 10.0 inches 
• Utah: Brighton Crest: 33.0 inches; Garden City: 20.8 inches; Powder Mountain: 9.0 inches
• Vermont: Harmonyville: 6.5 inches
• Washington: Goldendale: up to 7 inches; Walla Walla: up to 5 inches; Yakima: 3 inches
• Wisconsin: Cedar: 14.0 inches
• Wyoming: Driggs: 24.3 inches: Blind Bull Summit: 20 inches; Torington: 12 inches

Also, multiple avalanches were reported at Santiam Pass, Oregon, shutting down Highway 20 at milepost 79, Wednesday night.

Ice Reports

• Springfield, Oregon: 0.88 inches
• Eugene, Oregon: 0.80 inches
• Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania: 0.40 inches
• Hedgesville, West Virginia: 0.30 inches
• Moon Township, Pennsylvania: 0.30 inches
• OSU Airport: 0.30 inches
• Oakland, Maryland: 0.25 inches
• Near New Philadelphia, Ohio: 0.22 inches
• Ashburn, Virginia: 0.13 inches
• Alpine, Indiana: 0.12 inches
• Middletown, New Jersey: 0.10 inches
• Dulles International Airport, Virginia: 0.10 inches
• Near Lincoln and Springfield, Illinois: 0.10 inches
• New York City: 0.08 inches
• Emporia, Kansas: 0.06 inches
• Rocky Mount-Wilson Airport, North Carolina: 0.03 inches
• Numerous accidents in Indianapolis with 0.02 inches
• Light ice accumulations were reported across central Missouri. 

Numerous crashes and pileups were reported in eastern Maryland.

PHOTOS: Winter Storm Decima (December 2016)