Winter storm in the Midwest and Northeast brings snow, sleet and high winds

CNN
—

A fast-moving but powerful winter storm could knock out power and create hazardous travel conditions from the Midwest to the Northeast as it delivers intense snow flurries and strong winds, some of which are already underway.

The storm moved eastward and extended its wintry conditions over several of the Great Lakes, the Midwest and parts of the Interior Northeast Wednesday afternoon. It will spread across more of the northeast Wednesday night, and snow flurries will become one of the most dangerous impacts overnight into Thursday, especially early in the day.

Snow flurries are intense but short bursts of heavy snow and strong winds that can create blinding, white conditions that seemingly come out of nowhere and are incredibly dangerous for motorists.

“There is no safe place on a freeway during a snowstorm,” the Weather Prediction Center warned. “Hazardous travel conditions are likely, including whiteouts and rapidly deteriorating road conditions.” A snowstorm was responsible for a massive pileup in Pennsylvania in 2022 that involved 80 vehicles and killed six people.

A few snow showers blew across parts of North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin Wednesday morning and early afternoon.

Another characteristic from this storm will be strong winds capable of knocking out power and destroying trees, especially from the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic to the New England coast. Gusts of 30 to 50 mph will gust across the Northeast and parts of the Mid-Atlantic Thursday, including in Washington, DC, Philadelphia and New York City.

Snow from this storm will affect a much larger area than the storms of the past few weeks, but should still avoid the cities along the northeast I-95 corridor. Most of the snow will again pile up in high areas and downwind of the Great Lakes, where 5 feet of snow fell over the holiday weekend. Snow and lake effect from the storm could dump another 1 to 2 feet on areas still digging out.

Lighter snow up to an inch or two is possible in some of the northeastern lower elevations.

A few flakes of snow could mix with rain at times along the Interstate-95 corridor. Any slick accumulation is unlikely close to the coast, but wet roads and chilly air can lead to slippery patches and difficult travel.