A powerful and deadly winter storm that slammed the Plains and Midwest on Wednesday has pushed into the Northeast and New England, where it’s dumping a wintry mess of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain that will lead to slow travel on area roads and highways Thursday morning.
This latest storm system also brought rounds of severe weather to the South, where at least one tornado was spotted amid a slew of Tornado Warnings that were issued across the region on Wednesday.
The storm is now in its final act and will exit the Northeast later Thursday, but the FOX Forecast Center is continuing to monitor a weekend storm system that will bring a renewed risk of severe weather in the South and winter weather in the Northeast.
Northeast faces tricky Thursday morning commute
The winter storm in the Northeast is promising to bring some tricky travel to the region for the Thursday morning commute, and officials have urged drivers to keep it slow on the roads or just stay home until conditions improve, if possible.
Crews have been out in full force across the region, both pretreating roads ahead of the storm and working to remove snow and ice from roads and highways.
Schools in several states have announced that they will either open late to give crews more time to work on the roads or will remain closed on Thursday.
Winter weather alerts remain in effect from Pennsylvania to Maine, including Winter Weather Advisories for cities like Hartford, Connecticut; Worcester, Massachusetts; Concord, New Hampshire; Montpelier, Vermont; and Portland, Maine.
A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect for portions of northern Maine until late Thursday night.
Plains, Midwest feel full force of deadly winter storm
As the storm was gaining strength while it moved across the central U.S., snowfall rates of up to an inch per hour produced several inches of snow accumulations along its path, including 2-3 inches of snow in the Kansas City, Missouri, area.
The winter storm’s early impacts in Kansas and Missouri made for treacherous driving on Wednesday morning.
At least one deadly crash was reported in Missouri on Wednesday. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said a rollover crash claimed the life of a 3-year-old girl near Holts Summit on U.S. Highway 54.
Elsewhere across the state, troopers reported numerous crashes and stuck vehicles, including a crash that blocked Interstate 35 in Clay County.
In neighboring Kansas, state police also responded to numerous reports of crashes, including one that injured a person near Junction City.
In Missouri, a GoJet Airlines Flight 4427 slid off a taxiway after landing at St. Louis Lambert International Airport Wednesday morning, according to the FAA. Officials noted that passengers evacuated the aircraft and were transported to a terminal.
The airport was reporting 27 degrees with snow and freezing fog during the time of the incident.
Thundersnow was also reported in Oklahoma City and Norman, Oklahoma, early Wednesday morning.
Snow spread northeastward into the Great Lakes area on Wednesday evening, including Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit.
About 5-7 inches of snow fell in Milwaukee, making it the city’s biggest snowfall of the season so far. Farther south in Chicago, 1.5 inches of snow was reported downtown as of late Wednesday, while totals of 2-3 inches were measured in the outer suburbs.
On the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell spoke to Michiganders excited by the recent snow in Grand Rapids.
“I’m good with having more snow,” one resident said. “As long as it doesn’t go over a foot, then we’re good.”
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