Weekend mix of snow, ice, rain a prelude to widespread bitter cold
CHICAGO -- Snow, ice and rain fell Saturday in the Midwest and eastern parts of the U.S., a prelude to the Arctic temperatures due to arrive in the next few days.
The mix of precipitation affected a swath from the Oklahoma Panhandle -- where several inches of snow were in the forecast -- to southern New England, where up to a quarter-inch of ice is possible in the eastern Berkshires.
CBS Chicago meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist said an inch of snow is expected early Sunday morning with another one to two inches of snow Sunday afternoon. Temperatures are expected to plunge to 15 degrees by Sunday evening with below-zero wind chills.
To keep things in perspective, Kleist said by this time last year, Chicago had already seen more than 20 inches of snow.
Freezing rain and ice factored into numerous accidents Saturday in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio and threatened an outdoor hockey game in Toledo.
And parts of the southern U.S. saw heavy rain and thunderstorms, leading the National Weather Service to issue tornado watches and warnings in Mississippi and Louisiana and a flash flood watch for portions of Arkansas.
The weather service reported at least two confirmed tornadoes in Mississippi. Greg Flynn of Mississippi's Emergency Management Agency said homes were damaged in several counties, power lines were downed and there were reports of flooding.
"Thankfully, in all of this, there are no injuries reported anywhere," Flynn said.
Meanwhile, blowing and drifting snow was a problem in the northeast Colorado plains, while a blizzard warning was issued for northern North Dakota and Minnesota. Winds between 30 to 40 mph blew snow that fell overnight in the Red River Valley, weather service meteorologist Tom Grafenauer said.
That area will be the first to feel the effects of a strong cold front, he said, with temperatures reaching 20-below and wind chills approaching minus 50 by Sunday morning.
By Tuesday, parts of the Midwest will see below-zero temperatures, while lows will reach single-digits along the East Coast. The chilly weather is even expected to move as far south as New Orleans.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue of the private Weather Bell Analytics has called it "old-timer's type of cold."