Heavy Snow Expected as Winter Storm Izzy Set to Ravage Midwest States

As winter storm Izzy threatens to bring snow, ice, wind, and frigid temperatures across a wide swath of the United States over the upcoming holiday weekend, road crews are pre-treating interstates and other major thoroughfares, airlines are warning of travel delays, and shoppers are stocking up on supplies. The Weather Channel gave the storm the name Izzy.

Southwest Airlines issued travel advice for areas of the Midwest on Friday and Saturday, stating that change costs will be waived for flights to, from, or via airports in Des Moines, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Omaha, and St. Louis, among others.

Crews on the Move

According to Kansas City's snowplow map, crews were busy on multiple city streets on Thursday. Some schools in the region were closed Thursday and Friday due to COVID-19-related concerns.

"A rapid burst of snow is predicted from the eastern Dakotas to northern Missouri as this swift-moving winter storm dives southeastward from the Dakotas to the Ozarks from Friday through early Saturday," weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Belles warned Thursday evening.

The storm will next make its way toward the Southeast.

This may result in snow and ice for some, and fast shifting conditions from snow to ice and potentially back again for areas of Georgia and the Carolinas, according to Belles. "Driving conditions in some of these areas will be terrible on Saturday and Sunday, but the remaining portion of the holiday weekend on Monday will be dryer and warmer, so be prepared for bad road conditions and the chance of power outages from north Georgia to the interior Carolinas."

More than 50,000 tons of salt and 46,000 tons of gravel, as well as 407 snow removal dump vehicles, are on hand at the Georgia Department of Transportation.

A tweet from the department said, "Winter weather is forecast in North Georgia and metro Atlanta this weekend, and GDOT is planning brine operations, equipment, supplies, and employees to respond to the danger." "As the storm progresses, we'll keep an eye on the situation."

Stay at Home

According to a GDOT spokesman who spoke with The Weather Channel on Thursday, people in impacted regions should stay at home and avoid traveling.

On Thursday, crews were prepping equipment and pretreating interstates and other key routes in the Richmond, Virginia, region.

Sleet and freezing rain will mix with snow Sunday in the mid-Atlantic states, then throughout most of the Northeast Sunday night.

In addition to the typical bread, milk, and other products that customers are stocking up on, one expert warns that the storm might impact the already overburdened US supply system.

In an email to weather.com on Thursday, Francisco Alvarez, chief meteorologist for transportation network Convoy, said, "From an impact viewpoint, with this sort of weather situation, all it would take is an accident or two for major Interstate closures."

For example, Alvarez mentioned Midwest roadways as an essential worry.

As Izzy sweeps across the region, he added, "basically, if you could construct a box between Omaha, Sioux Falls, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Des Moines, it will be the most dangerous travel corridor for truckers."

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