Snow, Severe Storms To Give Truckers Trouble

Truckers will have to deal with a variety of weather across the continental United States (CONUS) the rest of the week. Areas of snow, wind and rain storms may slow them down at times. Shippers should expect minor to moderate delays.

Snowfall

Snow will continue to fall this morning and afternoon, November 6, across Montana, South Dakota, eastern Wyoming and northern Nebraska, as well as the southern half of Wisconsin and areas north of I-94 in Michigan. Pockets of freezing rain and icy spots may develop. This evening, another band of snow will move through Iowa and southern Wisconsin, heading to the Chicago metropolitan area late tonight.

SONAR Critical Events: Wednesday, November 6, 10:00 a.m. EDT

While snow totals should be manageable for drivers – less than six inches in most locations – snowfall may be heavy at times, reducing visibility. The most intense bursts of snowfall may occur from Sioux Falls and Sioux City eastward to Rochester, Minnesota and portions of lower Michigan.

A Winter Weather Advisory (WWA) remains posted for portions of Montana and Wyoming – from Great Falls and Bozeman to Helena, Billings and Sheridan – until 11:00 a.m. MST. The WWAs also remain in place for southern Wisconsin – Appleton, La Crosse, Madison and Milwaukee – as well as lower Michigan, north of Grand Rapids. These alerts are housed inside the FreightWaves SONAR Critical Events platform as shown in the map above.

Rainfall

Look for scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Florida Peninsula, and from the Desert Southwest all the way to Memphis and St. Louis. Storms could produce large hail, severe winds and isolated tornadoes, especially from eastern Arizona to Las Cruces, Lubbock, El Paso and Midland.

SONAR Critical Events: Wednesday, November 6, 10:00 a.m. EDT

Rain may be heavy enough to cause flash flooding and potential roadblocks from Lubbock to Oklahoma City, Tulsa and northwestern Arkansas. Rainfall totals of two to three inches will be common, but higher amounts up to five inches possible. This would affect travel on portions of I-10, I-20, I-25, I-35 and I-40.

Additional Notes

Looking ahead, the interior Northeast will see its first significant snowstorm of the season tomorrow and Friday, November 7 and 8. Heavy snow – four to eight inches on average with isolated spots of nearly 10 inches – and strong winds will disrupt travel across upstate New York, northern and central Vermont, northern and central New Hampshire, much of Maine, and adjacent areas of Canada.

SONAR Critical Events: Northeast snowstorm forecast for November 7 and 8, 2019

The National Weather Service (NWS) has not issued any winter weather alerts for the region, but some may be added later today. Look for updates on this storm later today on the FreightWaves website and social media accounts.

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