Major Winter Storm to Bring Heavy Snow, Ice and Bitter Cold Across Much of the U.S.

A powerful winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow, widespread ice accumulation and dangerously cold temperatures across large parts of the United States from Friday through Monday.

High pressure moving south from central Canada will usher in bitterly cold air over the Plains, Great Lakes and the Northeast, while areas of low pressure along the Gulf Coast and the eastern seaboard track northeast through Sunday.

The system is forecast to produce a long-duration winter storm, with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain stretching from the southern Rockies to New England. Snowfall totals exceeding 30 centimetres are likely across parts of the Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, leading to significant travel disruptions.

Widespread freezing rain and sleet are also expected across the southern Plains, lower Mississippi Valley, Tennessee Valley and the Southeast. Forecasters warn of significant to locally catastrophic ice accumulations, with the potential for prolonged power outages, extensive tree damage and extremely hazardous or impassable roads.

In the storm’s wake, much colder air will settle in from the southern Plains to the Northeast, bringing dangerously cold wind chills and prolonging impacts to travel and infrastructure.

Additional hazards include heavy lake-effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes from Friday into early Saturday, with storm-related snow spreading into the region by Sunday. Upslope snow is expected across parts of the northern and central High Plains through late Friday night. Meanwhile, an upper-level low moving into northwestern Mexico will bring rain at lower elevations and snow at higher elevations across parts of the U.S. Southwest from Friday into Saturday.