‘Major Storm’ is brewing over the Great Lakes

On By Littum

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The second half of the week promises to be eventful for weather events.

The Northeast will soon find relief later this week from the ongoing drought that caused several wildfires, although the welcome precipitation looks set to turn into some less welcome early snowfall. The snow is also expected to appear further west and south.

However, the presence of snow does not mean that other storms are not still a possibility for other regions of the United States, as thunderstorms, damaging winds and more tornadoes may still occur between central Oklahoma and northern Texas.

With the busy holiday travel season fast approaching, concerns about snowy conditions and slippery roads have already re-considered their plans. Here’s what we know about this week’s expected snowfall.

Snow is expected this week in the Northeast, Midwest, Southwest

Accuweather meteorologists predicted a “big” storm brewing Monday that will bring wintry conditions to the Great Lakes region. Strong winds are expected to pick up in the area Wednesday before expanding through the Midwest and Northeast.

Cold air produced by the storm will likely expand across New England, the Midwest and parts of the Southeast, bringing chances for snow.

The cool air passing over the warm Great Lakes water will cause a potentially heavy snow effect. Snow is also likely in parts of the Ohio Valley and the central and southern Appalachians, according to Accuweather.

“This colder air should arrive in the Plains around Wednesday, then quickly spread out across the rest of the South, lower Midwest and East Thursday,” meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said in a Weather.com report. “It will probably hang around all weekend.”

The National Weather Service said Monday that up to a foot of snow is possible at higher elevations in the Cascades and northern Rockies. Freeze warnings were already issued for much of California’s Central Valley as of Monday morning, with warnings that the conditions could “kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.”

See weather forecast map

Contributor: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY