(Updated Jan. 19, 2022, 10 p.m. ET)
Truckers could hit delays later this week due to treacherous winter weather in two regions of the country.
Related: Chaining up: 4 pro tips for truckers
First, a weak system is expected to move across Texas from Thursday until around midday Friday. Some cold air will be in place at the surface after a cold front passes through the area later Wednesday. Precipitation that follows as a result of an upper atmospheric disturbance will likely be sleet or freezing rain, although it may start as just rain in some locations.
A light glaze to a tenth of an inch of ice is likely. Given that it’s far southern Texas, which isn’t used to frozen precipitation, any amount of sleet or freezing rain could cause transportation issues. The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories for all of southern Texas, from Brownsville to just north of San Antonio.
Meanwhile, the same cold front will move into the eastern U.S. on Thursday. As it stalls offshore, a low pressure system is expected to travel along the front. With residual cold air lingering at the surface and ample moisture streaming into the region, the scenario is ripe for an ice, sleet and snow event for the mid-Atlantic.
As of Wednesday morning, the favored areas for freezing rain and sleet would be central South Carolina, as well as central and/or eastern North Carolina. The favored areas for snow look to be across interior portions of North Carolina, much of Virginia, eastern Maryland, eastern New Jersey and Delaware.
The NWS has posted a winter storm watch, stretching from Columbia, South Carolina, to southeastern Virginia and the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. All winter weather alerts for this system could be expanded at times to cover more potentially affected areas.
If this system trends stronger, the region of snow-ice will likely extend farther north and west. As a result, while most major cities and freight hubs along Interstate 95 are not currently in the potential impact zone, these areas need to be monitored closely. This would include areas from Philadelphia to Boston. A minor shift in the storm’s track could place them in the zone.
Snow and sleet accumulations could reach 5 inches in some spots, with ice accumulation of one-half to one-third of an inch.
Look for updates on the FreightWaves website and social media accounts.
Impact on freight
A recent nor’easter is starving capacity in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Winter weather traditionally causes rejection rates to rise as carriers are hesitant to enter affected markets. The FreightWaves SONAR Van Outbound Tender Reject Index – Weekly Change (VOTRIW) shows the magnitude of how rejection rates have changed over the past week.
When rejection rates rise rapidly, capacity tightens rapidly, indicated by the darker blue shades on the map above. This is what’s happening in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions that are about to get hit with another winter storm. So, additional tightening is possible.
Major lanes of concern
• Interstate 26 in South Carolina from Columbia to Spartanburg.
• Interstate 35 in Texas from Laredo to Austin.
• Interstate 37 in Texas from Corpus Christi to San Antonio
• Interstate 40 in North Carolina from Winston-Salem to Wilmington.
• Interstate 69E in Texas from Brownsville to Corpus Christi.
• Interstate 77 from just north of Charlotte, North Carolina, to Columbia, South Carolina.
• Interstate 85 from Spartanburg, South Carolina, to Petersburg, Virginia.
• Interstate 95 from Petersburg, Virginia, to Walterboro, South Carolina.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.
You might also like:
Historic floods ‘hammered’ British Columbia’s trucking industry
Small carriers taking big hits from I-95 shutdown
A look back: 6 impactful weather events in 2021 transportation
51-year Sierra snowfall record shattered