A clipper system will blanket the Midwest, the Great Lakes and the Northeast in snow Wednesday, with 19 million people under winter alerts as thousands are already reeling from multiple feet of snow and accidents on hazardous roads.
The system will produce quick bursts of snow that could come in the form of snow squalls — which are especially dangerous for traveling on roads because of whiteout conditions and low visibility.
A clipper storm, also known as an Alberta clipper, is a system that emerges from central Canada and drops frigid air and snow on the U.S., the National Weather Service says.
Some light snow may also reach the I-95 corridor Thursday morning, including New York City. No accumulation is expected in the five boroughs.
Behind the clipper storm, lake effect snow will kick in again Thursday, especially downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and will last through Friday.
Areas downwind of Lake Erie could get an additional 6 to 18 inches of new snow through Friday, and the Tug Hill Plateau area off Lake Ontario may get up to 2 feet.
Dangerous snow and ice have already piled up in parts of the Northeast, causing havoc on roads and roofs to cave in.
Erie County, Pennsylvania, declared a snow emergency last week as the area was bombarded with multiple feet of snow, leading to road accidents and school closures.
The roof of Sparkle Clean Car Wash caved in Tuesday morning because of the heavy pileup of snow. Squall and whiteout conditions also caused a multivehicle accident Tuesday that led to a massive pileup of semi-trucks on I-90 in the county. Separately, a cargo train smashed into a semi-truck that had gotten stuck on snowy tracks at a cross in Erie on Monday. The driver was able to get out of the cab just in time.
Elsewhere, three people were killed in Washington County, Iowa, on Monday morning in a weather-related accident. A car crossed into incoming traffic as it tried to pass a snowplow, hitting a car and killing both drivers and a passenger on impact, according to the Iowa State Patrol. A fourth person was hospitalized.
Wind alerts are also in effect Wednesday for 73 million people from the upper Midwest into the Northeast along the Appalachians, including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Strong wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph through Thursday could lead to spotty power outages.
More cold temperatures are on the way, too, thanks to a new blast of arctic air from Canada that will drop temperatures to 10 to 20 degrees below average over the next two days.
The northern Plains to the Midwest and the Great Lakes will experience subzero wind chills Thursday morning. Below-freezing temperatures will also reach parts of the Southeast, including Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.
Temperatures will be much milder by the weekend in the Midwest and early next week in the North and the Southeast.
