Snow and ice will drift from the Upper Midwest to northern New England later this week, raising the risk of icy roads and power outages as ice and snow pile up on trees and power lines.
The month begins with warming in the East and cooling in the West, but that will not last. Our long-term team follows a larger paradigm shift.
Winter weather may have subsided in the central and eastern United States, but parts of the Upper Midwest and areas near the Canadian border in the northeast face snow and ice this week. Enough can cause travel problems and possibly cause power outages.
Part of the same storm that is breaking a two-week record heat wave in parts of the West will follow into the Upper Midwest by midweek. At the same time, cool air will blow south from Canada.
Beginning Wednesday across parts of South Dakota and Nebraska, wintry rain will spread east-southeast Wednesday night through Thursday across the northern Great Lakes, central Ontario, southern Quebec and northern New England.
The most dangerous part of the storm will be the accumulation of ice on trees and power lines.
Generally, it takes about a quarter of an inch of ice accretion or more to cause significant tree damage and widespread power outages. That is possible from northeastern Iowa to northern Maine, including parts of northern Michigan that were hit hard by the lake’s signature snow this winter.
The same storm will also bring snow and slippery travel near and north of the frozen area.
Moderate to heavy snow is expected from eastern South Dakota to southwestern, central and northeastern Minnesota to northwestern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Because the snow may be wet and sticky, it could also weigh down trees and power lines, similar to the threat of ice to the southeast.
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As another storm moves from the West into southern Canada over the Easter weekend, a new patch of snow and ice will affect parts of Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, northern Michigan and far northern Maine.
Relatively warm air will push into areas affected by snow and ice across parts of Ontario, New York and central Wisconsin, causing melting that could help clean up the storm.
As snow and ice affect the northern parts of the Midwest and the northern part of the Northeast, more dangers are likely. Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms will occur further south over the Easter weekend.
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