Travel plans? Get set for deep freeze

Associated Press

CHICAGO

A blanket of snow is covring the Great Lakes and the Northeast regions ahead of an expected dip into Arctic-cold temperatures.

The wintry weather mostly moved out of the Plains on Sunday, leaving parts of Minnesota with up to a foot of snow, and pushed into Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

It’s a “slap of reality” after a mild November, National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Schmidt in La Crosse, Wisconsin, said.

The Chicago area received 3 to 4 inches of snow as of Sunday morning, and could see another 3 to 5 inches Sunday.

The city’s aviation website said more than 1,200 flights had been canceled at O’Hare and 175 at Midway as of late Sunday.

Michigan could see the heaviest snowfall, up to 10 inches. It caused problems Sunday when a Delta plane with 70 passengers and crew landed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport but then ended up in snowy grass while it was turning from the runway to a taxiway.

No injuries were reported.

To the east, Cleveland received about 6 inches, while parts of Vermont could see up to a foot.

The Ohio River Valley and Mid-Atlantic also was expecting a mix of snow, freezing rain and rain.

“For the rest of the day the best advice is just to stay off the road if you can, and otherwise go slow and give yourself more time to reach your destination,” National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Steinwedel said. “If you don’t have to drive or go somewhere, stay home.”

Temperatures 15 to 30 degrees below average will follow the cold rain and snow in the coming days through much of the Midwest and East.

Nighttime temperatures should dip below zero in the northern Plains and upper Midwest, while lows in the single digits and teens are likely in the central Plains into the Midwest and interior Northeast.