Winter storm warnings issued as US braces for heavy snowfall – Full list of states, areas on alert
The Northeastern states — from the Northern Plains across the Great Lakes and the South — of the United States are bracing for heavy snowfall as National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists issue a slew of winter weather advisories and storm warnings. The weather department said snow of up to 16 inches is expected through Monday evening.
The NWS issued a winter storm warning into Monday, predicting wind gusts of up to 30 mph (48 kph) and as much as 18 inches (46 centimetres) of quickly-falling precipitation, along with thundersnow, a condition when thunderstorms combine with snow.
“This band is going to drop some very heavy snow and some hairy scenarios for the Monday morning commute,” said weather service meteorologist Kevin Doom in Romeoville, Illinois.
As temperatures dropped across the nation’s midsection, meteorologists issued winter weather advisories for hazardous travel conditions in Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Snowfall was reported in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where meteorologists warned of low visibility and up to a foot of snow by Monday. In Indiana, weather experts predicted up to 11 inches (28 centimetres) of snow. Up to 6 inches (15 centimetres) of snow was predicted in parts of Wisconsin.
“Patchy blowing snow” and wind chills hovering near zero were expected in portions of Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. Some areas got measurable fluff a day earlier, including 4 inches (10 centimetres) of snow in southwest Minnesota and more than 5 inches (13 centimetres) in slices of northern Iowa.
Cold weather warnings were issued for Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, with freezing temperatures predicted through Monday morning for a large swath of the South, from Texas and Oklahoma to Alabama and Georgia.
The highest snowfall totals are expected in Burlington, Vermont, as well as in southeastern St. Lawrence, southern Franklin, western Clinton, Washington, Orleans, eastern Chittenden, eastern Franklin, and Lamoille Counties.
Many of these states have already experienced their first snowfall events of the season. The winter storm warnings come as other parts of the US, including the West Coast and the Intermountain West, are now anticipating heavy snowfall.
