A massive storm forming over the central U.S. could stretch from the Rockies to northern Texas to upper New England, according to predictions.
Stretching more than 2,000 miles, the storm puts more than 85 million people under winter weather alerts in 21 states.
This one looks like it will miss the Mid-Atlantic region, according to National Weather Service predictions. But other parts of the country will get slammed with a mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain, the National Weather Service warned Tuesday.
“We’re closely monitoring the major winter storm impacting a large swath of the U.S. from New Mexico, northeast into New England,” the NWS said Tuesday morning. “It’s a complex forecast from winter precipitation types, to amounts, and more.”
“The storm will be prolonged with several rounds of winter weather lasting through Thursday for portions of the central U.S. before shifting to the interior Northeast,” the NWS said. “Plan now for prolonged hazardous winter weather conditions and disrupted travel.”
In Indiana, it’s expected to hit midweek and drop a mix of rain that segues into sleet, with a snow capper, the Indianapolis Star reported. That city could see five to 10 inches of snow, while elsewhere in the state, accumulation could reach six inches, the Star said. Thursday will be the more troublesome travel day.
In Michigan, 11 southern counties are under a winter storm warning, meaning six inches or more. The storm will focus on the southern part of the state and leave the north pretty much untouched, MLive reported. Heavy snow, up to 12 inches, could land on the entire Detroit area, Ann Arbor and other cities, with Kalamazoo, Lansing and Flint also possibly in its sights, MLive said.
In Chicago, a foot of snow could fall in 24 hours, forecasters told the Chicago Tribune.
In New Mexico, the NWS in Alburquerque was predicting snow starting Tuesday night across the Northern Mountains, expanding on Wednesday.
The mayhem could hit the South with a crippling ice storm, including Dallas and Memphis. The NWS issued a winter storm watch on Monday for most of North and Central Texas from 6 p.m. Wednesday through the same time on Thursday, The Dallas Morning News reported. It was set to start with rain on Wednesday, turning into ice and a “wintry mix” overnight amid falling temperatures, with about a quarter inch of ice in Dallas and Tarrant Counties, the Morning News said.
Up to 4 inches of snow could hit northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the newspaper said, with accumulating ice and dangerous wind chills.
However, it was not expected to cause the same conditions that led to last year’s disastrous power-grid collapse that caused hundreds of deaths, The Associated Press reported. The temperature forecast is not prolonged or cold enough to cause those conditions as happened in February 2021. Nonetheless, Gov. Greg Abbott was planning a briefing on Tuesday on the state’s readiness.
The storm will make its way to interior New England, but it will be nothing like last weekend’s nor’easter, the NWS said.
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