Truckers will face heavy snowfall and high winds across portions of the Plains through Wednesday night.
A fairly slow-moving low-pressure system is pulling cold air into northern Texas, northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas, along with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, steady snowfall will develop in these areas Wednesday, probably lasting through the night. In some areas it may start as rain or a rain-snow mix before changing to all snow.
The heaviest snowfall will impact drivers between Interstates 40 and 70, where 6 to 12 inches could pile up in places just west of Oklahoma City, as well as far northern Oklahoma, the eastern Oklahoma Panhandle, the eastern Texas Panhandle and southern Kansas. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter storm warning for these areas.
The rest of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, in addition to the I-35 corridor from north of Oklahoma City to Wichita, and the Dodge City area will see up to 4 inches of snowfall. The NWS has issued winter storm watches and winter weather advisories for these areas.
Winds will be gusty across the storm’s target zone, up to 40 mph at times. Drivers will likely hit blowing snow and periods of whiteout conditions.
Other storms
Lake effect snow showers linger Wednesday across upstate New York and north-central Pennsylvania. The highest totals of up to 6 inches will impact drivers on I-81 from Watertown, New York, to just north of Syracuse.
The Plains storm could produce potentially heavy snowfall in parts of the Northeast later this week or this weekend. Look for updates on the FreightWaves website.