A Strong winter storm It was sweeping eastward from the Plains on Sunday, propelled by what forecasters described as a severe hurricane targeting much of the country with a mix of snow, ice, rain and strong winds.
“Part of the storm system is getting heavy snow, while other parts of the storm along the cold front are getting stronger winds and colder temperatures as the front passes,” said Bob Oravec, chief meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in College Park, Maryland. “They’re all connected — different parts of the country will receive different impacts from this storm.”
Snow and strong winds spread Sunday across the upper Midwest, with the National Weather Service warning of snowfall and possible blizzard conditions that could make travel impossible in some areas. Snowfall totals are expected to exceed a foot (30 cm) across parts of the upper Great Lakes region, with up to 2 feet (60 cm) possible along the south shore of Lake Superior.
Waves in Lake Superior will likely reach 25 feet (7.6 meters) by dawn Monday, with towering waves also expected in other Great Lakes, meteorologists said.
“Since the infamous Edmund Fitzgerald storm in 1975, we haven’t had any major incidents on the lake,” said Ben Warren, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Marquette, Michigan.
The outlook has improved dramatically since 29 people died when the tornado destroyed Lake Superior swallowed the Edmund Fitzgerald iron ore freighter On November 10, 1975. The Weather Service predicted waves as high as 16 feet (4.9 m) shortly before the Edmund Fitzgerald sank.
The National Weather Service warned of “dangerous wind chills” of up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34.4 degrees Celsius) in North Dakota and Minnesota from Sunday night into Monday.
In the south, meteorologists warned of severe thunderstorms expected to signal the arrival of a sharp cold front — sometimes referred to as the “Blue North” — bringing a sudden drop in temperatures and strong northerly winds that will end days of record warmth across the region.
The snowy holiday season in the Upper Midwest and Northeast comes as spring warmth persists across much of the Midwest and South amid record high temperatures.
The high temperature in Atlanta reached about 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius) on Sunday, continuing the warm trend after rising to 78 degrees Fahrenheit (about 26 degrees Celsius) to break the city’s record high temperature on Christmas Eve, the National Weather Service said. Several other record high temperatures were seen across the South and Midwest in the days following Christmas.
But meteorologists say this record heat is quickly coming to an end.
A cold front is expected to dump rain across much of the South late Sunday night into Monday, bringing cooler weather by Tuesday. The sudden change will drop the low temperature in Atlanta to minus 25 F (minus 3.9 C) by early Tuesday morning. Cold temperatures are expected to continue in the South through New Year’s Day.
In Dallas, temperatures on Sunday could drop into the lower 80s (high 20s C) to mid 40s (single digits C). In Little Rock, high temperatures of around 70 degrees (21 degrees Celsius) on Sunday may drop to highs in the mid-30s on Monday.
“We’re definitely moving back toward a more winter style,” Oravec said.
Over the next 48 hours, the hurricane is expected to produce heavy snow and blizzards in the Midwest and Great Lakes, freezing rain in New England, thunderstorms in the eastern and southern United States, and widespread strong winds.
The storm is expected to intensify as it moves east, deriving its energy from a sharp collision between the frigid air pushing south from Canada and the unusually warm air sweeping across the southern United States, according to the National Weather Service.
Thousands of people follow Flight delays and cancellations Across the Northeast and Great Lakes regions were hit by snow earlier this weekend, with thousands taking to roads and airports during the busy travel period between Christmas and New Year’s. Delays and cancellations continued on Sunday.
On the other side of the country, California had a fairly dry weekend afterward Strong storms hit the state With heavy rains, floods and mudslides.
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Willingham reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Martin reported from Kennesaw, Georgia.