Extreme snowstorm on its way for Midwest: check on your elderly neighbors

From weather.com's National Weather Forecast:

Snow and strong winds will engulf the Midwest with a renewed batch of arctic air following close behind through Thursday.

Accumulations of 3 to 6 inches (locally up to 8 inches) are possible along the path of this latest winter storm. Cities included are Omaha, NE, Kansas City, MO, Des Moines, IA, Moline, IL, St. Louis, MO, and Indianapolis, IN.

Moisture from Lake Michigan will enhance snowfall in the Milwaukee, WI, to Chicago, IL. corridor. Total accumulations of 8 to 12 inches are in the forecast for Thursday.

Behind the snow, strong winds gusting between 30 and 40 mph will develop through the Plains by tonight and spread eastward to the near the Mississippi River Thursday. Blowing and drifting snow is likely to lead to dangerous travel and the potential for near-blizzard or blizzard conditions in some locales.

Bitter cold air will keep the mercury from rising above zero in the Dakotas, northern Nebraska and western Minnesota Thursday. Wind chills will bottom out in the -20s, -30s and even -40s across these states.

Farther east, highs will range from the 0s and 10s in the upper-Mississippi Valley to the 20s in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.

By Friday morning, lows from Kansas and western Missouri northward to the Dakotas and Minnesota will be below zero. The coldest readings, -20s and -30s, are expected in the Dakotas and northern Minnesota.

If you know any elderly people who live alone, even if you only know them casually, try to check in on them. A phone call should suffice, but if you can't get an answer, please consider making your way to their residence. This kind of weather causes a lot of preventable deaths, just like extreme heat does.