Truckers will have to dodge wet and stormy weather the next two days from the Midwest to the East Coast.
The low-pressure system that has been dumping snow in the northern Rockies this week is moving east into warmer, unstable air. The cold front connected to the low will trigger showers and thunderstorms Wednesday across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, fading early Thursday.
This could impact freight flows in places like Des Moines, Iowa, Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit and spots in between, where 1 to 2 inches of rain could accumulate. Thunderstorms may pop up as far south as St. Louis, northwestern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma.
Thursday, the threat will stretch from the Northeast to the Gulf Coast as the front advances toward the Eastern Seaboard. Places from Upstate New York to New Orleans could get drenched with a quick inch of rain.
Major flooding is unlikely on either day, but locally heavy rain may lead to spotty flash flooding and potential road closures. Most storms won’t be severe as far as winds or hail, but isolated areas of damaging wind gusts or large hail are possible.
Major lanes of concern
• Interstate 70 from St. Louis to Pittsburgh.
• Interstate 80 from State College, Pennsylvania, to Des Moines.
• Interstate 90 from Pierre, South Dakota, to Syracuse, New York.
• Interstate 65 from Gary, Indiana, to Montgomery, Alabama.
• Interstate 55 from Chicago to New Orleans.
Several more rounds of rain and mountain snow will hit the Northwest over the next week, helping alleviate drought across the region. Drivers may hit treacherous conditions in parts of the Cascades and Rockies along the Interstate 5, 84 and 90 corridors.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.
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