Here are storm highlights.  While there will be widespread heavy snow (defined at 4" or more), it will combine with high winds and low visibilities over parts of eastern Kansas Saturday night and Sunday.  Like the snow, there will be widespread freezing rain south of I-70 in Kansas and south of U.S. 50 in Missouri and along/south of I-64 in Illinois. With several days of winter cold following the ice storm, it will be important to care for people who have lost power.  Over Kansas, winds are forecast to gust to 35 mph in places. In Ozarks are forecasts to be lighter but accumulations of freezing rain are forecast to be greater which will also be the case farther east into the Ohio Valley.  If you live in these areas, it is important to begin preparations for potential power outages.  The Sperry-Piltz Ice Storm Index (SP) is below. It has been upgraded to purple (level 4) in the past few minutes over parts of east central Kansas and from southeast Missouri into so...

Another period of freezing rain, along with potential power failures, is in store for Wisconsin and Michigan.  As of 5pm EST, there are still 393,000+ homes and businesses are still without power.  This was very well predicted by the Sperry-Piltz Ice Accumulation Index. An excerpt of one of the forecasts that appeared on this blog before the storm is below. Note the prediction of major power outages. The index is usually quite accurate.  Unfortunately, we have a new ice storm risk for Wisconsin and Michigan. Below are the detailed maps. Freezing rain will likely develop in Wisconsin after 1am on Monday.  Freezing rain will likely develop after 6am Monday in Michigan.  The details of the index are below. Click to enlarge.  Utility crews will be strained to restore power if this develops as forecasted. Electrical outages, as a result, may last longer than usual. 

Note: Based on the models through 10:45pm, this forecast, as amended for eastern forecast area (below) still looks good. I recommend that people in the Detroit metro, especially northern areas, check the latest forecasts tomorrow morning.  As promised, here is a special post pertaining to a likely ice storm in the Great Lakes region. If the forecast is correct,  there will be major electrical interruptions.  Please prepare now! The Michigan to Massachusetts map has been updated. I am concerned that freezing rain accumulations may have to be updated in southeast Lower Michigan, possibly bringing the Cat 4 power threat closer to Detroit.  Purple, in Michigan, indicates widespread, multi-day outages. It is possible power could be out for a week! Red = significant outages but of shorter durations. Please see the detailed explanation below. Here is the Sperry-Piltz ice storm index. It was highly accurate during the recent Texas ice storm, especially in the Austin a...

Right now, the above looks like a faithful depiction of additional freezing rain. The amounts may be a bit high in places, but overall, pretty good.  The NWS's forecasts, before the above model came out, translated into the values (below) on the Sperry-Piltz Ice Storm Index.  A detailed explanation of the Index is here .  The NWS warnings, etc., in the posting below are unchanged.