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Snow stretched coast-to-coast on Monday, as a major snowstorm poised to encompass over a third of the US is taking shape. The storm is expected to deliver damaging winds and hamper holiday travel through early Saturday.
On Monday, snow stretched coast-to-coast across the northern tier, with snow over at least 20 states. And it’s only the beginning of what will likely be a white Christmas for much of the US but a nightmare for travelers.
The forecast is calling for a massive snowstorm hovering over more than a third of the US by midweek, with peak impacts expected from Thursday through early Saturday. Blizzard conditions are expected in the Plains and Great Lakes region on Thursday and Friday, where up to two feet of snow is expected. Hazardous conditions are likely with heavy snow, rain, and damaging winds.
A low-pressure storm is expected to develop by Thursday, coinciding with frigid temperatures as the storm moves across the country, The Hill reported.
The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast “widespread gusty winds…bitter cold…heavy rain and heavy snow” impacting much of the nation through Christmas Eve on Saturday.
“Be sure to pay close attention to the forecast this week as details become certain,” the NWS advised in a tweet.
Forecasters are expecting the massive snowstorm across the US to have a devastating impact on holiday travel at both airports and on major highways.
Prolonged flight delays and numerous cancellations are expected to be triggered as a result, especially at places like Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, Fox Weather reported.
Monday: In the West, heavy snow in Northwest Washington, while a band of snow stretched over portions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. In the central US, snow over parts of North Dakota and South Dakota, over all of Minnesota and Wisconsin, into parts of Iowa, Illinois, and northern Michigan. To the east, snow over northeastern Ohio, into parts of Pennsylvania, most of New York and Vermont, as well as portions of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Tuesday: Snow over the entirety of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and the Dakotas, as well as portions of Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska. Heavy snow over western, northwestern, and southeastern Washington, as well as northern Idaho and western Montana.
Around the Great Lakes, snow over portions of Wisconsin and northern Michigan. To the east, snow over central New York and northeastern Pennsylvania.
Wednesday: On Wednesday, a sprawling, major snowstorm is poised to encompass over a third of the US that will extend from the west to the Great Lakes, according to the forecast from the National Weather Service (NWS).
The massive storm will stretch from the West to the Great Lakes and from the Dakotas to Texas. At least 21 states will see snow, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois.
In the east, a wintry mix over Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, with potential freezing rain over West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.
