Ice Storm Bearing Down On Parts of the Central United States! (credit: NWS Kansas City, Missouri)

DISCUSSION: As noted across multiple social media sources from across the Central and South-Central United States, there is a very ominous winter storm threat bearing down on these parts of the country.  As noted in the upper graphic (attached above), the worst hist areas within the NWS Kansas City/Pleasant Hill forecast region will likely be approximately from central/eastern Kansas to eastern Missouri.  The worst impacts are expected to be in and around areas positioned along and to the south of Interstate-70.  Therefore, if you have family or friends in the midst of a cross-country trip or potentially who live in these areas, be sure to advise them of the dramatically increased hazards with attempting to drive through this icing event.  Attached below is a piece taken from the upper graphic:

"Remember all those winter weather awareness posts we've made the last several weeks? Well, now it's time to put it all to practice. An Ice Storm Warning has been issued for the entire area, and we could see up to 1/2" to 3/4" of ice through Sunday night. There could be disruptions with transportation and power infrastructure throughout the weekend and into early next week. NOTE: While the graphic says up to an inch, any amounts that high would be very isolated. In general we expect areas in red to see 1/2" up to 3/4"."    

In the lower graphic (also courtesy of forecasters at the National Weather Service office located in NWS Kansas City/Pleasant Hill), you will note how they break down the anticipated conditions in the respect colo-coded zones based on the magnitude of the icing which is forecast to occur at this time.  Attached below is a piece taken from the exact post from their office as of a little earlier this evening as it pertains to the above impact post:

"Here are our expected start times for ice tomorrow as well as anticipated impacts. This is through Friday night only. Conditions will worsen further north later in the weekend.
CORRECTION: The Zone 1 wording should read most "EARLY" PM travel ok. Conditions could get a bit slick later in the afternoon and evening."

To learn more about other high-impact weather events occurring across North America, be sure to click here!

©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz