Snow to slow travel in parts of Midwest, interior Southwest
Two zones of snow will create trouble for travelers into the start of the weekend with one across the Midwest being more of a nuisance and one in the Southwest bringing much-needed moisture to areas in building drought, AccuWeather meteorologists advise.
Just enough snow will fall along an eastward-expanding swath to coat the ground with a bit more in areas from Nebraska to Pennsylvania before dissolving at the start of the weekend.
As it expands eastward, the snow band will tend to focus along the Interstate 80 corridor and up to 100 miles or so to the north. At its fullest extent east of the High Plains in Nebraska, a general coating of an inch or two is forecast over much of the 1,000-mile-long swath.
In some areas, the snow will be mixed with rain at times, and where the snow or mix occurs during the midday and afternoon hours, it may struggle to accumulate. Most treated roads will generally be wet, but low visibility at times from the snow and spray from the traffic can slow travel and increase the risk of accidents. Where road surfaces are colder, such as through gaps in hilly areas, there is a higher risk of slippery conditions.Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+
As snow or a wintry mix falls on the major airport hubs from Chicago to Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, deicing operations will lead to flight delays and the risk of missed connections for some passengers.
The band of snow will end over portions of the Central states Friday night and will tend to break up over the interior Northeast and the Appalachians Saturday.
As the storm producing snow lifts to the east-northeast into this weekend, a separate storm--the same one that brought soaking rain to Southern California into Thursday--will bring rain and snow to the interior Southwest into Saturday.
It will be cold enough for snow in the mountains of Arizona, New Mexico and southern Colorado, as well as the High Plains of southern Colorado, northeastern New Mexico, northwestern Texas, and the Oklahoma Panhandle.
In the highest elevations of the Southwest, snow will pile up from 6 to 12 inches, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 28 inches. Portions of the I-25 and I-40 corridors will be slushy and slippery with the risk of closures.
Flagstaff, Arizona, which has already received several inches of snow this week, will receive 8-12 inches of snow from the storm. The higher elevations around Albuquerque, New Mexico, will receive 1-3 inches of snow from the storm, as will Amarillo, Texas.
Meanwhile, Phoenix, which has only received 0.03 of an inch of rain since Sept. 1, may experience soaking rainfall from the storm and the biggest rain of the winter.
The storm will end from west to east Friday night to Saturday night across the interior Southwest.
The same storm producing snow and rain over the interior Southwest will also help to spark severe weather near the Gulf Coast this weekend.
Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
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