Two Thirds of Country Heads for Deep Freeze

Over the next week many parts of the US will face their first encounter with frigid winter cold and snow, get ready for the deep freeze. Major snow storm expected over parts of the Upper Mississippi Valley and Upper Great Lakes. Temperatures will be 20 to 30 degrees below average over parts of the Northern Plains.

Snow will develop over parts of the Northern Rockies and High Plains that will expand across the Northern Plains tonight. The snow will move east and become moderate over the Northern High Plains to the Upper Mississippi Valley on Monday morning. The snow will move into the Upper Great Lakes Monday evening and continue to into Tuesday morning, becoming heavy at times. Snow accumulations near a foot are expected over parts of southern Minnesota to northern Wisconsin, increasing to 18-24 inches in the upper peninsula of Michigan near Lake Superior. High winds will lead to blowing and drifting snow and sharply reduced visibility.

Behind the storm, a cold front will drop quickly south across the Plains and Mississippi Valley. A strong area of high pressure in southern Canada will combine with the low pressure over the Mississippi Valley to drive frigid air south into the northern and central Plains to upper Mississippi Valley, with temperatures dropping to 20 to 30 degrees below normal.

An area of low pressure develops over the coastal waters east of Florida with the low drifting north through Tuesday. The system will produce scattered showers and thunderstorms over eastern Florida through Monday evening and along the southeast coast Tuesday.

Tuesday Forecast Map