Clipper Storms Pepper the Great Lakes to New England

The Great Lakes, Appalachia, and the Northeast will see bouts of wintry weather today through the weekend with multiple clipper storms enroute. 

Originating from the interior of central Canada, Alberta clippers are quick-moving low pressure systems that often target the northeastern quadrant of the U.S. during the winter months. This coming week will be no different, as distinct clippers revolve through the region with varying snowfall deposits.  

The first of them is currently north of the Great Lakes, already having ignited light to moderate lake effect snow from Lake Superior this morning. An Arctic front associated with this system will trek south and eastward today, allowing for light trailing snow showers from Lake Michigan through the interior Mid-Atlantic today and southern Appalachia tonight. Frigid northwesterly air will blow in from the north and west, enabling lake effect snow across the Great Lakes region. Along the East Coast tonight, light showers will transform into an isolated rain and snow mix and then light snow showers.  

Although its heaviest snow additions will build along Canada’s St. Lawrence River on Thursday, light to locally moderate snowfall is still expected for the interior of the Northeast as lake-effect snow winds down in the Great Lakes. Most snowfall along the East Coast will conclude by midday Thursday. 

Through Thursday, lake-effect snow totals will peak at 10 to 12 inches south of Lake Michigan, with up to 6 to 10 inches for snow band-affected areas downwind of Lake Superior, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Totals of 3 to 5 inches will be common for most windward lake shores as well as for many peaks in Appalachia’s spine from North Carolina through Maine, while 1 to 4 inches is likely for valleys in the interior Northeast and the eastern Alleghenies. Farther removed from storm moisture, most of the Midwest and Northeast coastline will see up to 1 inch build, though just a scattered coating will be commonplace. 

Currently, Winter Weather Advisories cover the southern and eastern shores of the lakes from far northeastern Wisconsin through northern New York, as well as along parts of Appalachia’s spine down through North Carolina. A Winter Storm Warning has also been posted for far northwestern Indiana and far southwestern Michigan, while a Lake Effect Snow Warning has been issued for Erie County, Penn. 

The second clipper will traverse from the Great Lakes to the Northeast Friday through Saturday, bringing very similar impacts to its predecessor as it charts eastward. Again, mainly light accumulations are the expectation across the Lower Midwest through the Northeast, with locally higher totals enhanced by the lakes or squeezed out by central Appalachia. Its most poignant punch will be in the Great Lakes and Midwest, with widespread 1 to 3 inch accumulations likely and 3 to 6 inches downwind of the western Great Lakes. 

Be sure to download the WeatherBug app to stay up to date on the latest on this changing weather. It’s never too early to have a supply kit packed in case of inclement weather. A simple kit including a weather radio, water, blankets, batteries, and non-perishable food items will go a long way in the event of a power outage.