Converging winter storms could stall travel from Indiana to New England

Two merging storms have the potential to spread a swath of snow, wintry mix and slippery travel from the Midwest to the East Thursday into Friday, according to various weather reports.

The storm scenario is looking colder and slightly farther south than earlier indications, according to Accuweather.com. How much snow falls depends on how quickly two storms come together. One storm is coming from western Canada (an Alberta Clipper), and the other is a storm from the southern United States.

The area spanning I-70 to I-80 in the Midwest to the central Appalachians has the potential for a light to moderate snowfall and the associated travel delays, according to AOL weather. Cities that may be in the path of the snowfall include St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, Ohio, Pittsburgh and Morgantown, W.Va.

A bit of snow and spotty flurries are likely in the swath from Chicago to Detroit or essentially near and north of I-80.

Along the I-64 corridor in the Midwest, a wintry mix could bring locally slippery conditions in Louisville, Ky., Cincinnati, Ohio, and Charleston, W.Va.

Along the East Coast, the area from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia and central New Jersey could be in for anything from a period of snow to a wintry mix Thursday night into Friday.

The area from New York City to Boston has a chance at several hours of steady snow or just flurries. How much snow and wintry mix falls will depend on how quickly the storm strengthens upon nearing the coast.

Colder air will have been around for a few days ahead of the late-week storm. As a result the snow and wintry mix has a greater potential to adhere to paved and concrete surfaces, raising the risk of slippery conditions.

The arctic air is already unleashing locally heavy lake-effect snow even in areas missed by the path of the general storms this week.

A weaker storm could bring snow showers, even a coating of snow from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

According to the National Weather Service Lake Effect snow events will continue through Thursday morning and temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees below average from the Southern Mid-Atlantic to Northern New England and temperatures will be 15 to 30 degrees below average over the Northern Plains and the upper Mississippi Valley.