Air temperatures in Omaha, Nebraska, are unlikely to climb out of the single digits on Friday while parts of North Dakota will be lucky if high temperatures reach zero degrees. Meanwhile, brutally cold air will continue to expand across more of the central and northern US. If it is at all possible for you to stay home over night tonight and into tomorrow, please do.”

Iowa’s transportation department warned on social media Thursday the state hasn’t “seen weather like this in a LONG time. “Storms of this magnitude are fairly rare with recurrence around once or twice per decade,” the weather service said. The combination of snow and strong winds could produce blizzard conditions across the Chicago area, especially Friday night.Ī blizzard warning has also been issued for a large part of Iowa from Friday morning to Saturday morning, with heavy snow and strong winds expected to create dangerous whiteout conditions that could make traveling through some areas “impossible,” according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph are likely across much of the Midwest as the storm strengthens Friday. But, if the city gets trapped under a particularly heavy band of snow, much more could manage to stick and lead to significant travel issues. Its proximity to Lake Michigan could mean air temperatures are unable to drop low enough for a significant amount of snow downtown.

Some uncertainty remains in exactly how much snow this storm delivers to Chicago as totals are likely to vary considerably across the greater metro. Parts of Arkansas, eastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana, including Shreveport, have an enhanced risk of severe storms, or a Level 3 of 5, on Thursday night, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Simultaneously, very cold air will plunge south out of Canada and send temperatures plummeting across much of the north-central US.Ī severe thunderstorm threat will once again target a significant portion of the South. Travel Thursday night may become treacherous. This snow will be accompanied once again by gusty winds which may lead to whiteout conditions. The storm will strengthen Thursday night and begin to dump snow, which may be heavy at times, from parts of Kansas and Nebraska into the Midwest.

Thursday night: Snow for Plains, severe risk for South The storm will then morph into a much larger beast – its strengthening aided by a big push of atmospheric energy – as it exits the Plains by Thursday evening and sets the stage for a highly impactful event in the central and eastern US.Īhead of those impacts, more than 1,100 Friday flights within, into or out of the US have already been canceled, with many of those set to land in or take off from Chicago-area airports, according to. A round of snow will target the high elevations of Arizona and New Mexico through Thursday. Snow and blustery winds moved from the Northwest into the Four Corners region by late Wednesday. The origins of the new storm are rooted in the Pacific Northwest, which was walloped by blizzard conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday. The new storm will place the same parts of the central and eastern US slammed by a massive storm earlier this week at risk once more – amplifying the potential impact for those still recovering.īut there are some key forecast differences for this storm compared to the last, particularly in the Chicago area, which missed out on significant snow earlier this week but could be blasted with blizzard conditions by Friday night. Another powerful storm is preparing to unleash blizzard conditions, severe thunderstorms, damaging winds and brutal cold across the eastern half of the US in what will be a dangerous dose of déjà vu for many.

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