Cold, Snow Will Focus on Great Lakes for Big Travel Wednesday
Colder air will sweep into the eastern part of the nation and will trigger snow around the Great Lakes for the busiest travel travel day of the year.
Colder air, more appropriate for late November, will first roll into the northern Plains then will sweep into the East and South next week.
For many people, it will mean winter coat weather instead of a light jacket or sweatshirt.
Cold air passing over the warm waters of the Great Lakes will cause narrow, shifting bands of heavy snow to set up downwind, known as lake-effect snow.
The lake-effect snow will ramp up Tuesday night and Wednesday over the western and central Great Lakes.
The snow will then spread into the eastern Great Lakes and the central and northern Appalachians Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.
Enough snow will fall to shovel, plow and slow travel in isolated areas, typical of lake-effect snow events.
Prior to the start of the lake-effect event, steady snow could slow travel along parts of Interstates 80 and 90 over the northern Plains on Tuesday.
Fortunately, snow should not be a problem around Chicago or Detroit as most of the time these cities manage to avoid lake-effect snow. Both cities may have a couple of passing snow showers Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day.
The Thanksgiving week cold push could be a precursor to what lies ahead for December.
After in-and-out cold air during the end of November, winter cold may lock and load in December.
AccuWeather.com Long Range Expert Joe Bastardi is expecting a colder-than-average December for the eastern two-thirds of the nation.
