Like the Energizer bunny, lake-effect snowfall will keep going and going and going across the Midwest and Northeast today, November 12. Roads and runways will be messy – maybe even icy in some spots – so shippers should expect delays on the ground and in the air. Disruptions to local and regional business and logistics operations will continue.
Midwest
Several additional inches of accumulation are likely in portions of far northern Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, western lower Michigan (from Traverse City to Benton Harbor), the “thumb” of eastern Michigan (from Bad Axe to Port Huron), and in South Bend, Indiana. Blowing snow will cause white-out conditions in some areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Winter Storm Warning for some of these areas. These alerts are housed inside the FreightWaves SONAR Critical Events shown in the maps below.
Temperatures will be frigid with a stinging bite in the air. Afternoon highs will only reach the teens and 20s, along with wind chills in the single digits. Lows tonight will drop into the single digits in many metropolitan areas – including Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit – but it will feel like zero/just below zero because of the wind.
Northeast
Lake-effect snow will also cover roads from Cleveland, Ohio to Watertown, New York. Towns from far northern New York state to upstate sections of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine will get socked with totals of 12 inches or more. Central and southern parts of these states could see sleet/freezing rain and icy conditions. The wintry weather in both regions will slow down drivers on several major highways, including I-80, I-81, I-86, I-90 and I-94. Winter Storm Warnings also remain posted for these areas. Some routes in the Ohio and Tennessee valleys may be slick as well, from Cincinnati and Louisville to the southern Appalachians. The primary band of precipitation will move off the East Coast tonight, but lake-effect snowfall won’t let up.
Other notable weather
A glaze of ice, along with several inches of snow, will likely develop late today through tomorrow from parts of Montana to the upper Midwest. This includes portions of the Dakotas, Nebraska (north of I-80), Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. So far, the NWS has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for portions of Montana. They may add alerts in other areas later today/tonight.
Watch out for freezing cold weather overnight from Houston, Texas all the way to Wilmington, North Carolina. A hard freeze is possible in some areas, meaning temperatures will be at/below freezing for at least a few hours. Drivers who have to go through/park in the Deep South tonight may want to put winter additive in their diesel to prevent fuel gelling. The NWS has issued Freeze Warnings across many areas of the Gulf states due to the unusual winter-like temperatures.
A high wind event today through tomorrow, November 13, will give drivers trouble across southeastern Wyoming. Crosswinds gusting to 45 mph or more will make deadheading particularly risky on I-25 from Cheyenne to Casper, as well as on some parts of I-80 from Cheyenne to Rawlins. Rollovers are possible.
Crosswinds from the north may also be gusty until this evening from Huntsville and Birmingham, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina.
Have a great day, and be careful out there!