Icing Concerns In The Northwest & Blizzard Conditions In The Great Lakes – National Weather Outlook For December 22, 2022

by | Dec 22, 2022 | Weather

National Weather Forecast

We got Grinchy weather heading into Thursday. The area of low pressure across the Great Lakes will deepen as we head throughout the day, causing winds to increase across the central and eastern United States Thursday into the weekend. That system will continue to bring snow issues from the Great Lakes and Northeast down into parts of the Deep South and back into the central Plains. Some icing will also be possible. Meanwhile, a new system in the Pacific Northwest brings its own issues including snow and ice to areas like Seattle and Portland.

Several inches of snow is expected to accumulate around the Great Lakes over the next few days, with the potential of up to two feet in parts of Michigan. Out in the warmer sector, parts of New England could see over three inches of rain.

The greatest potential of significant icing with this system in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. will be in the Allegheny and Potomac Highlands of western Maryland and eastern West Virginia where up to a quarter inch of ice will be possible. This would mostly fall on Thursday.

Forecast hourly wind gusts from Midnight CST Wednesday Night through 6 PM CST Friday Night.

Strong winds of at least 35 mph (potentially reaching the 50 mph range in some locations) are expected during the second half of the week heading into the holiday weekend.

  • The strongest winds across the Plains will be on Thursday.
  • Across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, the strongest winds will be on Friday.
  • These winds will cause the aforementioned blizzard/blowing snow issues across the region that could cause travel issues and road closures.
  • They could also cause power outages.

As the next system moves into the Pacific Northwest Thursday into Friday, snow and ice will fall across the region – including in Seattle and in Portland. In some areas of Oregon, up to a half inch of ice could fall. This will greatly impact travel across the region and could cause power outages.

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– D.J. Kayser