Through Thursday, slick roads, snow, and icy conditions will affect travel for some cities. We’ll have two different weather events which will create travel issues for motorists in parts of Wichita, Kansas to Kansas City; Missouri, as well as, Omaha, Nebraska; Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Detroit, Michigan.
Anytime there is ice accumulation, power outages are a concern. Outages can be caused by tree damage or ice accumulation on power lines, as well as many other factors related to ice, wind, and snow. For Chicago, the ice accumulation could cause power outages in the first weather event which will spread ice through the area.
Especially this morning, commuters in the Chicago area should allow extra travel time and be aware of icy conditions. Today and Thursday, the second wave of weather will spread into parts of the Northeast. Snow will accompany the wintry mix today through Thursday over the central United States.
Slippery roads should be expected along Interstate 80 between the I-35 and I-75 corridor. Snow will cause travel issues from parts of Nebraska and the eastern Dakotas through Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan along the corridor of interstates 29, 35, 80, 90 and 94.
“Along with increasingly heavy snowfall, winds will contribute to deteriorating travel conditions as blowing and drifting snow obscures roadways and limits visibility,” said, AccuWeather Meteorologist Faith Eherts. As much as 6-12″ could be seen in Minneapolis, Minnesota and surrounding areas.
The biggest travel concerns will be north of Chicago and Detroit; however, Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines will once again see some travel concerns as well. For travelers in Green Bay, Wisconsin and Traverse, Michigan, roads will be icy on Thursday morning. Eherts urges people to avoid travel if at all possible when icy conditions are present. She adds that if you must be on the roadways to allow extra time in case of hazardous road conditions and travel delays.
We will not experience quite as low temperatures as last week with the polar vortex; however, the northern Plains will remain below zero degrees Fahrenheit and single or low teen temperatures can be expected across the upper Mississippi Valley.
