A prolonged period of unsettled wintry weather is in store for the midsection of the United States as a slow-moving, multifaceted storm system tracks through the region.Conditions across southeastern Nebraska deteriorated quickly Tuesday night as freezing rain developed, resulting in numerous accidents between Hastings and Omaha. The Nebraska State Patrol urged drivers to stay off the roads on Tuesday night following multiple accidents. (Twitter/@NSP_TroopC) Early Wednesday morning, hazardous driving conditions were also reported along Interstate 94 in Minnesota where state troopers had responded to numerous accidents, including a jackknifed pickup truck that was pulling a trailer. Sleet covered the ground in western Arkansas.The threat for a disruptive wintry mixture of precipitation will slowly expand northeastward into the Midwest Wednesday as the storm system crawls into the region.Cities at risk for travel delays Wednesday courtesy of wintry conditions include Rochester, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; and Des Moines, Iowa. As the day progresses Wednesday, temperatures will climb to right around the freezing mark across much of the Midwest, diminishing the threat for slick spots on main thoroughfares. Localized slick spots will likely be limited to roadways that receive no treatment or along elevated areas like bridges and overpasses.Snowfall accumulations across the Midwest through Wednesday will be light, especially by Midwesterners’ standards.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPWith marginal temperatures in place, a general coating to an inch or two of snowfall is expected, with accumulations generally on grassy surfaces. The storm system will continue to keep many of the same areas across the Midwest grey and dreary on Thursday as well. Some locales may switch back and forth between rain and snow as temperatures hover in the lower to middle 30s. This would include places like St. Louis and Kansas City.A separate wave of upper-level energy is forecast to slide out of the Plains and into the storm system on Thursday, helping to give the storm a boost of energy. Along with adding the threat for a steadier snow in the Midwest, it will also bring the threat for heavy rain and thunderstorms farther south. The winter storm seen on radar across the central U.S. on Wednesday morning, Jan. 22, 2020. (AccuWeather) If the added wave of upper-level energy is able to inject enough cold air into this storm system, it will bring along the threat for a more substantial threat for snowfall across the Midwest into Thursday night. Places across Missouri, Iowa and Illinois, that face the threat of a rain and snow mix during the day on Thursday, may have a complete changeover to snow during the overnight hours. This would include areas in between the Interstate 70 and 80 corridors in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.If the added boost of energy fails to inject enough cold air into the storm system by Thursday night, many of those places may just continue to have a mixture of rain and snow into Friday morning. The storm system is expected to continue to slowly spin its way towards the Ohio Valley Friday, shifting the threat for wintry weather eastward. Again, depending on how cold the air mass is in the vicinity of the storm system will determine how widespread the snowfall will be. Regardless of the magnitude of the cold weather, a focal point for some of the steadiest and heaviest snowfall is likely from northern Missouri to southeastern Iowa, northwestern and northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin. This area can expect a general 3-6 inches of snow with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 8 inches. The storm system will begin to make a more eastwardly jog from Friday into Saturday, bringing an end to the wet and wintry weather across Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and much of Wisconsin and Illinois. Bouts of rain and snow will likely continue to persist across Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, but again with temperatures hovering in the lower to middle 30s, accumulations may mainly be on non-paved surfaces. At the same time, the threat for wintry weather will expand into the Northeast.The entire Midwest and western Great Lakes region will finally say goodbye to the storm system by Sunday, and unlike previous storms to track across the region this January, slightly above-average temperatures are expected in the wake of the system.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
