Parts of Upper Midwest bracing for heavy snow, strong winds
Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on April 17, 2023
(NEW YORK) — A spring storm moving across the Great Lakes region was set to deliver a blast of snow to parts of the Upper Midwest by Sunday evening.
The storm is the same one that’s triggered severe thunderstorms over the weekend across parts of the Heartland and the South.
Winter weather alerts are currently in effect from Minnesota to Illinois.
Wind advisories are in effect from northeastern Kansas to Minnesota, as well, including cities such as Kansas City, Missouri; Des Moines, Iowa, and Minneapolis, with possible wind gusts up to 45 mph.
Behind this system, colder, blustery conditions are moving in, sending temperatures plummeting.
Heavy snow was expected to fall across parts of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin by Sunday evening.
Windy conditions may lead to blowing snow at times and lower visibility, impacting people traveling.
Windy conditions will persist across much of the Midwest into the evening.
Colder air is sweeping across the Ohio River Valley up to Michigan.
Heavy rain will impact the eastern Great Lakes with scattered, stronger thunderstorms possibly down into the central Appalachians. Some thunderstorms could bring isolated damaging wind gusts.
More than 26 million Americans were under a severe weather threat Saturday, with severe thunderstorms stretching from Illinois to Texas.
Accumulating snow is forecast for much of the Great Lakes region through Monday, with the bulk of snow expected to accrue Sunday night into the morning.
A large swath of Wisconsin could get 6 to 10 inches of snow, with some areas seeing closer to a foot. Little to no snow accumulation is expected in Chicago.
Minneapolis-Saint Paul and areas northwest of Chicago are forecast to get between 1 to 3 inches of snow.
The spring storm will continue to slowly spin over the Great Lakes and eventually up into southern Canada on Monday as it begins to weaken, with the storm’s cold front expected to swing across the Northeast this morning, bringing rain and scattered showers.
South Florida braced for a slow-moving storm, bringing torrential downpours on Sunday evening. Given the recent extreme rainfall event, the flash flooding threshold is lower in Fort Lauderdale.
Possible thunderstorms could exacerbate the lingering flooding issues in Fort Lauderdale, which saw more than 2 feet of rain, shut down the city’s airport and strand drivers on flooded streets.
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