Slow Motion Spring: Another Major Midweek Snowstorm Ohio Valley to New England
Sunday Afternoon Temperatures. Minnesotans were happy to see 40s; imagine how residents of Nebraska must have felt, basking in 70s. Click here to see current USA temperatures, courtesy of mesonet.org.
Alerts Broadcaster Briefing: Issued Sunday night, March 9, 2014.
* Another Significant snowstorm is brewing for midweek: Wednesday looks like the roughest day for travel and facility impacts from the Ohio Valley into New England.
* Evolution of model runs suggesting a plowable snowfall for Chicago (probably 4-6″), with the heaviest snow bands passing south/east of The Windy City. The heaviest amounts are likely from near Toledo and Cleveland into northern Pennsylvania, upstate New York and much of New England Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Boston may wind up with 8-12″ snow by Thursday.
* New York City will see rain at the height of the storm Wednesday PM hours, ending as a few inches of slushy snow late Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Travel will be impacted for the Thursday AM commute in the Tri-State Region.
* Detroit may be close to the northern edge of the heaviest snow band; latest models suggest 4-6″ in the Motor City Wednesday.
Wednesday Complications In Chicago. Although I expect the heaviest snow bands to set up south/aest of Chicago, I do expect delays and cancellations at ORD and MDW Wednesday, with latest models suggesting 3-6″ for the Chicagoland area. Closer to South Bend and Terre Haute closer to 8-9″ may fall Wednesday.
Summary: It’s still early, but enough ingredients are converging for a very significant snowfall from the Ohio Valley into portions of the Great Lakes and New England. A plowable snow is likely in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, South Bend, Toledo and Cleveland, with as much as 8-12″ from east of Cleveland into Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester by the PM hours Wednesday, spreading rapidly into the rest of New England Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Latest models suggest 8-12″ of snow for metro Boston, most of that falling Wednesday evening into midday Thursday, enough to shut down the city for 12-18 hours, if the models are on the right track (and I suspect they are).
Another update Monday as we receive more data and weigh the various model solutions. It’s been the roughest winter since the late 70s and early 80s for many northern cities, and Old Man Winter isn’t quite done with us yet. The pattern remains active and volatile. Stay tuned for more details as the specifics on this storm crystallize.
Paul Douglas – Senior Meteorologist – Alerts Broadcaster
Photo credit above: “It’s all controlled by this guy.” Reuters/Joe Skipper.
Welcome to the WeatherNation blog. Every day I sift through hundreds of stories, maps, graphics and meteorological web sites, trying to capture some of the most interesting weather nuggets, the stories behind the forecast. I’ll link to stories and share some of the web sites I use. I’m still passionate about the weather, have been ever since Tropical Storm Agnes flooded my home in Lancaster, PA in 1972. I’ve started 5 weather-related companies. “EarthWatch” created the world’s first 3-D weather graphics for TV stations – Steven Spielberg used our software in “Jurassic Park” and “Twister”. My last company, “Digital Cyclone”, personalized weather for cell phones. “My-Cast” was launched in 2001 and is still going strong on iPhone, Android and Blackberry. I sold DCI to Garmin in 2007 so I could focus on my latest venture: WeatherNation. I also write a daily weather column for The Star Tribune startribune.