Watch Now


Quick-hitting snowstorm heading to Great Lakes

Brief delays possible for truckers from North Dakota to Michigan

(Photo: Wisconsin DOT)

Truckers in parts of the Midwest will run into heavy snow Thursday, as well as gusty winds.

The snowstorm will be a fairly quick-hitter, cranking up Thursday morning and fading for most places by early Friday morning. It won’t be a major storm by any stretch, but it may cause brief delays for drivers.

The Alberta Clipper — a fast-moving winter storm that enters the north-central U.S. from Canada — will sweep across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes. The National Weather Service has issued winter weather advisories for eastern North Dakota, northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northern parts of lower Michigan, impacting the Interstate 29 and 35 corridors.

Places such as Iron County in far northern Wisconsin could see 4 to 9 inches of snow, with 3 to 6 inches in far northern Minnesota. Wind gusts of 30 to 35 mph will lead to periods of blowing snow and reduced visibility.


Other locations in the advisories will see either 2 to 4 inches of snow or only up to an inch of snow with some freezing rain.

Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis-St. Paul could receive up to 2 inches of snow but were not under any winter weather alerts as of Thursday morning.

As the storm spreads to the interior Northeast later Thursday, 3 to 6 inches of snow could pile up in the Tug Hill region of Upstate New York.

Major lanes of concern

• Interstate 29 from Hankinson, North Dakota, to the North Dakota-Canada border.
• Interstate 35 from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Duluth, Minnesota.


Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.

You might also like:

Breaking the ice: Coast Guard’s vital role in maritime shipping

Worst 10 states for winter fatal traffic crashes

How costly were 2021 US weather disasters?

Nick Austin

Nick is a meteorologist with 20 years of forecasting and broadcasting experience. He was nominated for a Midsouth Emmy for his coverage during a 2008 western Tennessee tornado outbreak. He received his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Florida State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Tech. Nick is a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. As a member of the weather team at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee, Nick was nominated for a Mid-South Emmy for live coverage of a major tornado outbreak in February 2008. As part of the weather team at WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nick shared the Chattanooga Times-Free Press Best of the Best award for “Best Weather Team” eight consecutive years.