An icy mess is possible from portions of the Midwest to the Mid Atlantic, with accumulating ice possible from Iowa to New Jersey with the highest odds for accumulating ice over Pennsylvania. Precipitation entering this area is expected to fall as a mix of freezing rain and sleet beginning Wednesday and lingering through Thursday.
According to the National Weather Service, the heaviest icing is likely over portions of the West Virginia panhandle, western Virginia, and large parts of central and southern Pennsylvania where the odds of at least minor impacts from an ice storm are greater than 60%. Here, there’s a substantial risk of tree and electrical line damage from the ice, especially if ice accumulates up to the forecast 0.25″ amount.
Lighter, but just as hazardous icy accumulations are expected elsewhere across the Midwest, the Great Lakes, and the northern Mid Atlantic. Here accumulations of ice shouldn’t exceed 0.25″, but nonetheless will create hazardous driving conditions.
“Even light freezing rain can be hazardous,” warns the National Weather Service, adding that “minor ice accretion on roadways can lead to dangerous travel.” They urge travelers to check conditions before venturing out and drive slowly with an abundance of caution.
A frontal system traversing the Great Lakes region is responsible for the next wave of wintry weather, with a swath of accumulating snow across portions of northern New York and northern New England Monday evening into Tuesday and ice further south Wednesday into Thursday. Several inches of new snow accumulation is expected on the north side. But on the south side, warm air aloft overrunning a returning warm front over the cold airmass is expected to lead to a widespread, impactful freezing rain event from the Midwest across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan into the Mid Atlantic States Wednesday and into southern New England Thursday.
A more significant winter storm may impact portions of the Mid Atlantic and Northeast next week, bringing more snow than ice. But before then, people will need to deal with this week’s icy event first.
