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Subscribe to RSSFreezing rain in the Carolinas made traveling a nightmare, sending 29 people to the hospital. Even Utah, where residents are used to cold, a record number of people ended up in the ER. NBC's Katy Tur reports.
Updated at 3:30 p.m. ET: Winter storm warnings were issued Saturday for parts of Maryland and Pennsylvania in the East and Colorado and New Mexico in the West.
The National Weather Service warned of snow-covered roads with 1 to 3 inches of snow expected to fall in affected areas in the East and locally higher amounts.
In some mountainous areas of Colorado, the NWS said it expected heavy, blowing snow with total accumulations of 10 to 20 inches.
Some 8 to 12 inches of snow were expected to hit the northern mountains of New Mexico, the weather service said.
The Weather Channel said the last week's cold air invasion set the stage for this latest winter storm: "As an upper disturbance ejects out of the southwestern states, it will run into southerly winds on the backside of a high-pressure system centered over the Eastern Seaboard."
Winter storm watches were also issued for parts of Illinois, including Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.
The weather service forecasts freezing rain will develop in that area, from central Iowa to southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois and southern Michigan on Saturday night or Sunday. Travel conditions could be hazardous this weekend, NWS warned.
The Weather Channel's Julie Martin says a wintry mix is forecast to move into northern Iowa and to Ohio, posting a threat for travel in major Midwestern cities.
“Further north into Minnesota and Wisconsin, a couple inches of snow are possible before changing over to freezing rain and then rain,” said meteorologist Michael Palmer of The Weather Channel. Palmer said rain, sleet and snow could also hit the Plains and Midwest over the weekend.
Palmer warned there was the potential for a up to 0.5 inch of ice accumulation for Omaha, Des Moines, St. Louis and Chicago before rain moved in.
“The icy mixture will affect Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo going into Monday,” he said.
“The band of moisture will continue to shift northeastward through the Great Lakes Sunday night and Monday with a variety of wintry weather,” he added. “Rain breaks out in Oklahoma and Kansas late Saturday and spreads northward into the colder surface air Sunday for an icy mixture” for parts of Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois.
Palmer warned of “significant travel issues with very slick roadways” and also said some affected areas could see power outages Saturday night through Sunday.
However, he said “a surge of warmer air" would arrive in the Plains and Midwest by late Monday with most areas seeing the ice and snow melt.
NBC staff writer Isolde Raftery contributed to this report.
Matt Rourke / AP
A runner crosses a street during a winter snow storm, Friday, in Philadelphia.
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It's about time it gets cold. It's winter. But would sure like some snow.
You can keep the ice. Here in Arkansas I can't remember the last time it rained or snowed.
GM Mary,
7 degrees here . we are under a winter storm watch but i don't expect much today. perhaps Sunday.
Split decision on "enjoying" the cold here. Like it.......sometimes. But don't feel "balanced" if we get none. Messes with the farming if we don't.
@Mary Joones,
It's 24 degrees here so temps are nice and easy though we just came out of single digits and sub zero wind chills. If ya want some snow just give me an address as to where I can send some of ours. :)
"The National Weather Service warned of snow-covered roads with 1 to 3 inches of snow expected to fall in affected areas in the East and locally higher amounts.In some mountainous areas of Colorado, the NWS said it expected heavy, blowing snow with total accumulations of 10 to 20 inches."
Sorry but whether it's 1"-3" or 10" to 20" here in the Snow Belt where I live thats just called "Snowin". I'm surprised they didn't give this event a scary name to add to the hype;)
Sarcasticus1---When I say cold, 32 is my low. Not 7 like Tramp. Now that's cold.
actually Mary that's been kinda the norm for several days now. wind chills been a pain. But hey it did get all the way up to 12 last wed.
Hey i just checked and its ALL THE WAY UP to 13, yippee.....
..oh...we're having a heat wave....a tropical heat wave...there's no denying ...the temperatures rising...we're having a heat wave.....
sorry spontaneous singing is a curse of mine... not as bad on me as it is on her though....
Where is "Global Warming" when I need it ???
A whole 1-3 inches??? Waaa..... Forty years ago in Detroit the weatherman would have said "snow flurries" if that was all he was expecting!!!
Now 10-20 inches is much more newsworthy, and still no more than an average winter storm for the mountains of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico too.
I agree that there needs to be balance in nature. It is winter therefore we should be "cold". Snow is needed, also, so that we aren't in a drought this summer. BUT, the single digits are rough!!! In the 30's is gonna seem like a HEAT WAVE! LOL
Just a reminder -- please protect your pets and animals. Take them inside and make sure they have dry, warm shelter. And don't forget to make sure their water source is not frozen. They need you and depend on you. Don't let them down.
Otherwise, depending on your perspective, enjoy your "heat wave" or deep freeze!
Cold? Cold is when you have to run half #1 diesel fuel with half #2 diesel plus use a half-gallon of Howe's in each fuel tank to keep the fuel from freezing, say about -30F or so. Any temperature above 0F is like a day at the beach compared to real cold, especially with a strong gusty wind too. Always remember to carry a bottle of alcohol or air line anti-freeze to pour into the service lines to keep the brake system from freezing, and if the brake shoes get frozen to the brake drum, take a hammer and tap on the brake shoes until they free-up too, rather than dragging the tread right off the trailer tires instead!
Here is an example of a real blizzard from the good old days, a storm with temperatures of -15F, with winds gusting to 60 mph, that left up to 3 feet of snow on top of an ice coating in Cleveland, OH in January of 1978. After driving a tow-truck through the storm that entire night and grossing $2700 running $50 tows, today I measure every other alleged snow storm to this one! So, 1-3 inches of snow = 5%!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6RcU5ch8vQ
Old Timer, I remember that one. I was living in Xenia delivering pizzas. Had to bring the battery in every time I shut the car off at night. I had three runs to Wilberforce U. Each time, I got stuck a little trying to go past a stuck car. The last time I really got stuck. I knew I could get out but thought I might run into the other stuck car if I tried so I went to see if I could help the five guys pushing the car. I looked inside the car to find NO ONE driving! I looked around and knew I could get them out of there with no problem so I asked if I could help by truing to drive it out. They said go for it, so I asked them to step away from the car and I rocked it a couple of times, gave it some gas and out I went. They got mad because they thought I was showing off. I told them nope, I am from Michigan and this is pretty much normal. They all had very deep southern accents so I knew this was probably their first experience with snow.
Nothing is worth trying to reach a destination in weather like this. Folks, please stay home. Bake up a batch of cookies, read a good book. Unless you are an emergency responder STAY HOME. You can drive to Wally-World tomorrow.
unseasonably warm here in florida. will be in the 80s nearly all week. i grew up in cleveland and don't miss this winter weather at all.
Good weather for for Gasparilla and to pelted with beads in the street.
Hope it stays that way there, a friends place burt to the ground thursday night, and of course i worry.
GM Tramp. That's what I hate the most about the cold. I have to use the wood stove. Be sure your flu is clean and in good shape. Sorry for your friend.
@Tampabay , I have alot of friends and family in Florida. Transplants like yourself. They all say the same thing. They don't miss the cold, but they say they miss the seasons.
The seasons? well out of our normal four,... "Summer, Winter, Flood and Tornado"...., I guess I would miss maybe the summer. I do have a bike and a boat after all.
They say the only season they have is the hurricane season.
I lived in Tampa Bay nine years but had to return to NJ five years ago due to a family matter. I really hate it here. Hope to be back in FL this year. I miss it!!!!
Hey Tramp. You have a bike and a boat. If you had a 4 wheeler you could be a redneck. LOL
Tramp--I hope your laughing too. I just couldn't resist.
Gonna be 70 here in upstate S.C. on Tuesday! I will wear shorts when I play golf that day. On the other hand, we had sleet and ice yesterday...
Some of us do the same up here. The cold turns into a helpful factor in countering the dreaded and oft embarrassing ......" hang out".
Again millions of people, here and around the world, will be endangered by severe weather. This dramatically demonstrates that the earth is profoundly effected by a new weather phenomenon, "Global Cooling." If left unchecked the earth will turn into a frozen, lifeless ice cube like Mars. This threat is being caused by all the atmospheric changes brought on by the rich left wingers overheating their large mansions and flying around in their personal jets. Fortunately, there is a solution. By imposing 100% tax on left wingers we can save the earth and our civilization. Al Gore, we're gonna get our money back.
My GOD Doug, you are brilliant! Maybe we can put a limiter on all of the gaseous outflow from liberal "global warming" alarmist's mouths! I think that a few rolls of duct tape would work wonders! (As long as we also cover the nose, firmly).
I guess you are seeing what I am seeing in the liberal "class warfare"! There is not a battle between the 1% and the rest of us, there is a battle between the 1% on the right and the 1% on the left! The only difference is that the 1% on the right will allow the population to move into some semblance of personal wealth and the 1% on the left wants to have total control over all of the population. These new taxes on the producers in this country are being funnelled, through government contracts, patronage jobs (like Michelle Obama and her $400,000/year hospital job) and forced union dues, to the Democrat party and their allies!
Doug & Dan. Lets add Al Gore to your little monkey troop and we can make sure that all the "evils" are not seen, heard or spoken. What a couple of ignorant posts!
Hope so, we need the moisture. sure its a pain in the butt, but short term pain for long term gain.
Its Winter! WhattayaSpect!
snow bunnies...( the two legged variety), would be nice......hey ya asked...
Right now its 40 degrees. and with a chance of showers today. Typical winter day here. So parts of the east are getting 1-3" of snow, and a couple of western states are getting between 10-20". Can't feel to worried about the people only getting maybe 3". but having up to 20" could cause some huge problems.
got about 3 feet in the yard atm wouldnt mind a couple more about 6 feet a winter is perfect.
SallyAnn. 20 inches of snow could be a real big problem if you don't have enough cocktail mix and a bunch of movies. Hope your smileing.
good thats the way it should be it's good for the growing season.
grounds too hard to do much good right now. as far as rain goes, but a good snow cover gradually melting sure would be nice, personally i don't see that happening but who knows.
SE Michigan is still way too dry-cold temps earlier and wind but no real snow coverage--we need the snow--or we need a trend of warmer weather and lot of cold rain that will soak in. The weather here is really off course. We are way behind in our average snow for the season and we need the water. In less than a week we will go from highs of 11 to highs of 48.
I hope the plains and midwest get enough to help with what has been ongoing drought conditions right on into the winter season. Water in many areas is still much needed---in other areas way too much flooding--
Hope that you get the snow that you need, Kane. You all can have it. The least amount grinds everything to a halt here. All we need is to keep having weather cool enough to keep all of the leaves from putting out and the bulb plants from erupting and then just getting killed when it drops back into the low 20's or teens.
@Kane-336005,
I sure hope things turn around for all of you up in Michigan.As far as I'm concerned if your Tart Cherry crop is ruined Mother Nature is gonna have some serious splainin' to do.
In all seriousness last year do to a lack of moisture what looked like could be a bumper crop (10 acres worth) of organic blueberries turned in to a few bags and bowls of very tart and dry fruit. So I really do empathize with you.
Rlquall, thanks! Our problem here is the weather gets really cold, trees and plants are ok, then we get these warmer than usual temps followed by record breaking cold-even the trees and plants are confused- We lost nearly our entire apple crop down here last year and further north, they lost an entire cherry crop--the birds have it really tough due to a combination of weather and light pollution. We have had them build nests in Dec/Jan and of course upon hatching, all are lost--if only we could move the weather around like on the weather maps and every region could get what they need....
There used to be a peach orchard very near here, and a huge one way down the road to the west. But we can't produce them with consistency, as most springs they bloom out and then there is a late frost weeks after it's generally warmed up. You need to be either further north or further south. If you just want them for your own family, maybe you can get lucky. As much as I love them, no more than I need I can just buy.
Where are the looney "global warming" advocates???? Oh, they only spout during the summer months when we do have normal hot weather. I do not know why MSN gets any ratings. There are new topics out there but they only will report the news that "only" favors Obama and his liberal progressive regime. Did any of you know that it is reported that in OBAMACARE a penaltly of around $4000.00 year for anyone who smokes(I wonder if it includes the pot smokers too since so many states legalizing medical marajuana)? That will be on top of your regular premium. Guess who gets penalized next. Overweight or fat people! The doctors will soon be measuring your BMI(body mass index) Already there is forms that have the BMI on it but I don't think the doctors are doing it yet. And you know those EMR's(electronic medical records)? Yep, they will be accessed by the good ol' American government. Do you really think you will free in this country under the Democrat regime???
i only see one looney one here.
Thanks for making winter weather a partisan issue, as there is no good place to talk about politics elsewhere on Newsvine!
JR- shut up...nothing like a ignorant Rupublican hateful rant to start off my morning. you have no facts just an angry rant like the loons that consist of your party. Get an education, get out amongst some diversity, travel a bit and really understand what this country is about. You sound like a fool- typical.
Don't worry JR, soon we will have to carry our "national health card" which will be swiped at any restaurant's cash register and if we have taken in too much red meat, carbs, or calories we will either pay more for our Big Mac, or have the purchased denied by "Big Brother"! Plus, ignore the ignorant rants from libs like H3321278 and realize that the only way a liberal can debate is to insult, defame, then jump right back on their "high horse" and do the "superiority dance"!
People don't "advocate" for global warming anymore than you advocate for imbecility. It's just something that happens. Additionally, you're a little behind the times because nobody denies the reality of climate change anymore, not even the people on your end of the IQ scale. About 10 whole years ago when it became clear that denying the reality of global warming was becoming an impossibility, the charlatans representing big oil switched gears and started arguing that although the globe was in fact warming, there was no evidence that the change was being caused by man. That's right, even the people that profit from pumping greenhouse gases into our atmosphere accept global warming as fact so if you're going to be a gullible dupe, at least make sure your programming is up to date.
jr, where are all your tea party people in the house with the repeal and replace rhetoric of Obamacare? How about asking them to take a little time to tweak the bill if they can't completely repeal it? No one said it was perfect. I suspect the insurance premium/penalty was one of your loony tbaggers idea. No one up until you ranted anything about "global warming". Get an effin life man!
Hey, H3321278, I am a conservative republican and in my household we have five B.S. degrees and four masters degrees. If you would like to compare the levels of education for the typical conservative versus the typical liberal I would definately oblige!
Hey Brian! Why don't you argue facts instead of the typical liberal talking points! First a liberal insults, i.e. talking about how your opponent has a low IQ! Second, a liberal quotes "facts" without ever considering that science and life must always be questioned! Lastly, the liberal hops onto his or her "high horse" and rides off into the sunset to do their "superiority dance"! How I wish I could be such a wonderful person as the typical liberal! LMFAO!
The climate is not changing....deal with it the best you can.
"Winter storm watches were also issued for parts of Illinois, including Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa."
I never knew Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa were part of Illinois. Must be that old school geography I took.
Including Chicago? like that's a separate place from Illinois?....oh wait i guess mentally it is.....
Congrats NBC, ya finally got a headline right...this cold snap bites alright.
On bull shoals lake. Arkansas; It's been a very dry year so far. The lake is down big time. Fishing is good,do need some rain. Warm day today.
It's called WINTER, people ... geez!! Some act like this is the end of the world. It's a REAL WINTER!!
define..."real" ...You are however correct this not the end of the world. But i can see it from here, well the end of logic as we know it anyway.
This morning a found a quarter of an inch of snow outside my house.
Big, hairy deal.
Did ya put it back or turn it into lost and found?
Um.... that probably wasnt snow.
I noticed the geography error too. I'm sure that WI et al are pleased to be part of Illinois :>) They really need to get some better proof readers!
This, too, shall pass. It never got above 5 degrees here for 12 days; lows in the -10/-20 degrees. Glad it's already 35 today; can't even roll a snowball when snow is so dry, it's like trying to roll powdered sugar.
Where is Al Gore ?????
What does Al Gore have to do with winter weather?
He's probably still repairing the frozen pipes in his Tennessee mansion! (True story, his pipes froze up years ago because in Tennesse there is little use for serious insulation because the average temperature did not show a need)! GLOBAL WARMING!
Climate change.
Global Warming????
This is weather, not climate.
You just finding that out jock?
People: you have choices on where you live...I lived in the Midwest once....I cannot now understand how one is house bound for 5 months out of the year- trapped by weather, cold and ice....Oh well, I understand there is a better quality of life elsewhere- it works for me....But, I do feel sorry for those people who do not see sunshine for months and deal with being a shut-in....yes, I know there are gyms- but how many really take advantage? Peace.
Since this big chill is caused by global warming, think how much colder it would be if global cooling set in
Keep warm people, Im just glad here in Elpaso its not like that, im stationd here for the Army And the way these people drive here thank god for no snow or freezing rain because like i said these people cant drive at all tail gating, speeding talking texting on cell phones, no car insurance and police are never around
It isn't global warming as the GOP would have you believe is a farce, it is climate change. The weather is a closed thermodynamic system that exists because of moisture and the oceans that provides that moisture. The sun provides energy and the fossil fuels are the resultant product of those photons that have struck the earth for billions of years. Weather is a complex phenomena and humans will be affected by weather pattern changes regardless of your religious or political opinions. And yes, the release of that energy into the atmosphere will change things beyond your wildest imagination. The earth will be here and weather will exist even if humans cease to exist because of hubris and ignorance. If we abuse Mother Nature she will respond in kind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Global Warming causes Climate Change................but look folks, this is just one more cold snap. Happened before, will happen again. If it were extremely rare maybe it could be cause for a global warming discussion. But it isn't that rare as far as I know. Now if next week New England is sweltering with 60-70 degree temps we might have something.
True Space Captain. Next week here in the UP of Michigan it is expected to be 40, well on Tuesday anyways. Last week wind chills of -33 with highs of 3. Schools closed because of the cold. Pretty big swings. At least we got a bit of snow though.
Two weeks ago we had solid rain for days. Glum and dreary New Jersey. In October we had a hurricane. Last night we had snow and it's been very cold recently. I'm so glad I'm moving back to Florida. If I can't sell my house here, I will just walk away.
..... it is so cold that there are unconfirmed reports that Al Gore has his hands in his own pockets.
how do you know he has any pockets?