By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

Parts of the Midwest, including Chicago and Detroit, will be faced with icy weather into Thursday morning. Downed power lines are not a concern, but extremely treacherous travel is a danger.

Today is starting with a narrow batch of ice over the mid-Mississippi Valley.

The band moved through St. Louis early this morning, leaving a glaze of ice on elevated surfaces in the city’s southern suburb of Oakville.

The icy weather, falling as either sleet or freezing rain, will press into Indiana and northern Illinois through the late morning hours of today.

Not a significant amount of ice is expected. However, it only takes a thin coating of ice to make untreated roads and sidewalks extremely slippery.

Any freezing rain over the Midwest into Thursday morning could slightly glaze trees, leading to a scene similar to what AccuWeather.com Facebook fan Jeff W. captured on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011, in southeast Jackson County, Mich.

The ice danger will wane during the midday hours as temperatures climb above freezing but will quickly return tonight once temperatures cool and a storm system arrives.

The concern for freezing rain or sleet will shift to the lower Great Lakes tonight into Thursday morning. This includes the cities of Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Kalamazoo and Detroit.

South Bend, which just recorded a winter snow total of over 100 inches for the first time in nearly 30 years, also lies in the icy weather zone.

Similar to today, treacherous travel for both motorists and those on foot is the main concern with the ice tonight into early Thursday.

Adverse road conditions may force officials to delay the start of school Thursday morning.

Airline passengers could also be negatively impacted Thursday morning as crews work to de-ice planes.

The storm system set to deliver the icy weather over the lower Great Lakes is preceding a more potent storm, one that will threaten the Ohio Valley with snow and flooding rain Thursday into early Friday.