Winter Storm Hunter is starting with freezing rain, sleet and snow in the Midwest before moving Northeast.
The storm is spreading snow and ice across the Great Lakes, Tennessee Valley, Ohio Valley and lower Mississippi Valley today. Over an inch of sleet has accumulated, coating roads in eastern Arkansas, west Tennessee, northern Mississippi, northern Louisiana and western Kentucky, according to Weather.com. Cape Girardeau County, Missouri has seen the most accumulation so far, with 2 to 4 inches of sleet staying put on top of a layer of ice. Parts of the Plains have seen up to 9 inches of snow.
Power outages have been reported in Indiana and Kentucky. Nashville weather and Louisville weather shows that the metro areas aren’t accumulating sleet, but they are getting hit with freezing rain.
Over 27 million people are under a Winter Storm Watch and 2 million are under Winter Storm Warnings due to Winter Storm #Hunter. The system is affecting every state in the lower 48. We're breaking down the impacts, now on AMHQ. pic.twitter.com/br8uHWj2TC
— America’s Morning Headquarters (@AMHQ) January 11, 2018
As Winter Storm Hunter 2018 passes through the Midwest, the Northeast is facing more cold weather forecasts for the weekend. Northern New England, especially, should expect snowfall.
Flooding is possible in the Northeast because of heavy rain and melting ice on rivers, the National Weather Service warned.
The cold front in the Midwest will sweep east and bring east coast temperatures in the 50s to 70s now back down to the 20s.
“An end to the brief January thaw sweeps east for this weekend,” the National Weather Service said.