(NEW YORK) — A wintry blast is slamming the Great Lakes region with 3 to 5.5 feet of snow — and more lake effect snow is in the forecast for later this week.
Monday’s intense lake effect snow band from Lake Michigan brought 7.5 inches of snow and whiteout conditions near Hartford in western Michigan, where a pileup closed Interstate 94 in both directions.
About 14 passenger vehicles and three semitrucks were involved in the crash, according to the Michigan State Police. One driver was critically hurt.
A winter storm warning is ongoing in western Michigan.
“Please drive safely and just stay home if it’s unnecessary to drive,” state police said.
Cars left abandoned in Erie, Pennsylvania
Hard-hit Erie, Pennsylvania, which has been blanketed in snow since late last week, remained under an emergency declaration Tuesday.
Crews there were having a difficult time with snow removal efforts due in part to the number of abandoned vehicles on snow-covered roads.
There were an estimated 240 vehicles scattered across the city, “which have greatly impacted our ability to remove the snow,” Erie Bureau of Fire Assistant Chief Gregory Purchase told reporters Tuesday.
“We have deployed more resources, personnel and equipment from every part of the state, as far as Philadelphia, to come to Erie County to help support the situation here and to continue to clean out the state route system,” said PennDOT District Representative Brian McNulty.
McNulty characterized it as the “largest statewide response to a snow event in recent history.”
In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency in the area around Cleveland and four Northeast Ohio counties in response to the heavy snowfall there — with the possibility of more snow this week. The counties affected are Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga and Lake counties. The governor’s office said snow squalls and gusty winds leading to some gales across Lake Erie are possible.
Meanwhile, from a separate storm system in Iowa, three people were killed in a car crash on Monday when a driver crossed into the oncoming traffic lane to try to pass a snowplow, according to The Associated Press. Two people were also killed in Kentucky on Monday in a crash on an interstate, the AP said.
A lake effect snow warning remains in effect through Tuesday evening for Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, where another 4 to 8 inches of snow is expected.
A new storm system will move in Wednesday, behind this system. One to 2 feet of lake effect snow is forecast for Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
The heaviest snow will be closer to the lakes, but a rain and snow mix is possible from northern New Jersey to Maine Tuesday night into Wednesday.
No snow accumulation is forecast for the Interstate 95 corridor, but up to 9 inches of snow is possible from Vermont to northern Maine.
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