The tail end of a fast-moving clipper system is bringing some rain and gusty wind to the Northeast on Tuesday, but a second system is hot on its heels and could produce some winter weather that could cause problems during the morning commute on Thursday.
What’s affected millions in the Northeast Tuesday morning is associated with the storm system that brought severe weather to Michigan and the Great Lakes region on Monday morning. Thunderstorms there zipped across the region at about 50 mph and a few severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for storms that were producing hail.
The second clipper system made its way into the U.S. on Tuesday morning, bringing some rain and mixed precipitation to parts of Montana and North Dakota in the Northern Tier.
Some thunderstorms are possible while the system spins across the region but not like what was seen in Michigan on Monday morning and into the afternoon hours.
The system will then make its way into the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region by Tuesday evening and into Wednesday.
By Tuesday night, snow and rain will move into the Great Lakes region. Precipitation is likely to fall as snow across northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, including towns like Marquette, but totals won’t amount to much. Meanwhile, cities in the southern halves of those states like Milwaukee and Detroit will just see some rain.
The system will continue to advance to the east on Wednesday, when some snow is expected to continue in parts of northern Michigan and across the Great Lakes into portions of western New York state.
“Now, on Thursday, there could be a little twist to the weather story,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “There’s some colder sir with this system, and that’s going to combine with the heat.”
With that warm influx, and the cold air producing a few inches of snow farther north, that could be the perfect setup for freezing rain.
That could lead to a dangerous morning commute on Thursday for millions in the Northeast.
“I think we know how to handle the snow,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Michael Estime said. “But when it comes to freezing rain element, especially on bridges, overpasses, on-ramps and off-ramps, that’s when even just a little bit of glazing, perhaps a tenth of an inch, can really cause problems.
The highest ice accretion is expected across interior New York State, but commuters across New England, including Vermont, New Hampshire, western Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut should be aware of their driving conditions on Thursday morning while traveling on the region’s roads and highways.