Winter storm in the Midwest: 1,000 flights cancelled in Chicago

UPDATE: 3-5-13 8PM PST

While there may be some precipitation falling as early as Wednesday afternoon, the bulk of the storm occurs from around 1 AM Thursday until around 7 AM Friday. Winds will be strong and gusty for much of this time and where snow accumulates on trees and power lines, outages could become an issue.

Already there is a coastal flood watch up for much of the southern New England coastline. I expect erosion and not flooding to be the big news maker. However, there can be some splash over of water onto shore roads during this storm. Additionally, some of the east facing communities such as Scituate and Sandwich are most vulnerable to water damage, reported in boston.com/news/weather.

UPDATE: 3-5-13 4:30 PM PST

Tom Moore of the Weather Channel is reporting heavy snow as the snow moves East.

Cincinnati was bracing for up to 6 inches of a nasty mix of snow, sleet and ice, and Indianapolis was awaiting 3 to 6 inches. A bit more was expected outside the city. Winter storm warnings were in effect for parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.

The storm is very broad, Sullivan said. "The extent of the snow goes from Wisconsin down through northern Illinois into Indiana and parts of northern Ohio."

There are actually two storm systems at work, one centered over Illinois and another over Kentucky, but they're tied together, Sullivan said. The Illinois storm is slowly fading but as it moves east it will connect with the Kentucky system.
"That one over Kentucky is going to be taking over and it's going to strengthen overnight a it moves south and east."

That strengthened storm is what's to wallop Washington, D.C., on Wednesday going into Thursday. East of Washington it's not that cold so "it's still a question whether they're going to get really heavy show. But it looks like west of D.C. is going to get pretty good amounts of snow, with over a food in places," he said.

The storm could dump as much as 5 to 8 inches of snow on Washington, D.C., by Thursday morning, said Frank Giannasca, a meteorologist with the Weather Channel in Atlanta. "Further west towards the Blue Ridge Mountains there will be over a foot of snow," he said.

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UPDATE: 3-5-13 4:00PM PST

The National Weather Service reports the storm system impacting the Midwest will shift into the northeast U.S. on Wednesday, bringing many weather hazards. Heavy snow, especially in the central Appalachians and northern Mid-Atlantic, strong winds, coastal flooding and rough seas are a few of the weather hazards which may lead to dangerous travel conditions, localized power outages and property damage.

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UPDATE: 3-5-13 11:45AM PST

The Chicago Tribune is reporting hundreds of private and public schools throughout the Chicago area have called off classes for today, including DePaul University. Check here for a list.

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Airlines have canceled nearly 1,000 flights at Chicago airports because up to 10 inches of snow is forecast for northern Illinois as they brace for another winter storm. The Nor'easter in February dropped three feet of snow just three weeks ago.

The Chicago Department of Aviation said Tuesday that more than 770 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport. Airlines have canceled more than 215 flights at Midway International Airport. City aviation officials urge travelers to check their flight status with airlines.

A strong winter storm will continue to bring moderate to heavy snow, as much as 4-9 inches, to parts of the Midwest & southern Great Lakes during the day Tuesday before moving into the Ohio Valley by Tuesday evening. The system will move into the mid-Atlantic Wednesday, where it is forecast to produce 6-10 inches of snow, with as much as 10-20 inches possible in the higher elevations of West Virginia and western Virginia, according to the National Weather Service.

Track the storm here.

Less than a month ago a Nor’easter dropped three feet snow on Eastern portions of the US. Blizzard and coastal flood warnings were posted from New York City to Rockland, Maine. A wide ground zero for the merger of two powerful winter storms that forecasters said could yield a single storm of historic proportions, while many were still suffering from the ravages of Hurricane Sandy.

During late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy raged as the second major hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. New Jersey is still rebuilding after the devastating damage from Sandy and then from last month’s storm.

Updates to the storm will be posted today.

Resources

http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/Chicago-airport-cancelleations-winter-storm/UNVLjCgXfU2D1b7fVGfK6w.cspx

http://www.weather.gov/