Recommended
A powerful winter storm moved toward the eastern United States from the plains on Sunday, driven by what meteorologists describe as an intense cyclone, triggering a chain reaction of snow, ice, rain, and severe weather expected to affect much of the country.
Snow and increasing winds spread across the northern Midwest region on Sunday, where the National Weather Service warned of zero visibility due to snow and potential blizzard conditions that could make travel impossible in some areas. Snow accumulations were expected to exceed 30 centimeters (1 foot) in parts of the upper Great Lakes, with up to 61 centimeters (2 feet) possible on the southern shore of Lake Superior.
In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, forecasters warn that waves will likely exceed 7.6 meters (25 feet) on Lake Superior by Monday morning, with significant waves also forecast for the other Great Lakes. The weather service's marine forecasts are used by the Coast Guard and commercial and recreational vessels that navigate the Great Lakes year-round, said Ben Warren, a meteorologist at the service's office in Marquette, Michigan.
"Since the infamous Edmund Fitzgerald storm in '75, we haven't had any major incidents on the lake," indicated Warren.
Weather forecasting has improved substantially since 29 people perished when the iron ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. The weather service had forecast waves of up to 4.9 meters (16 feet) shortly before the Edmund Fitzgerald was wrecked.
In the south, meteorologists are warning of severe thunderstorms expected to signal the arrival of a sharp cold front, sometimes called a “Blue Norther,” which will bring a sudden drop in temperature and strong northerly winds that will end days of record heat across the region.
The timing of snow in the northern Midwest and the Northeast comes as heat continues across much of the central and southern parts of the country, where record temperatures have kept Santa sweating in recent days.
The maximum temperature in Atlanta is forecast to be around 22 degrees Celsius (72 Fahrenheit) on Sunday, continuing a warming trend after reaching 26 C (78 F) to break the city's record high temperature for Christmas Eve, said the National Weather Service. Numerous other record temperatures were observed in the South and Midwest in the days after Christmas.
But that record heat is coming to a quick end, according to meteorologists.
A cold front is expected to bring rain to much of the South late Sunday night through Monday, bringing much colder weather on Tuesday. The abrupt change will cause the low temperature in Atlanta to drop to minus 3.9 C (25 F) by early Tuesday morning. The colder temperatures in the South are expected to continue through New Year's Day.
Over the next 48 hours, the cyclone is expected to produce heavy snow and blizzard conditions in the Midwest and Great Lakes, freezing rain in New England, thunderstorms in the eastern U.S. and the South, and widespread high winds.
The storm is expected to intensify as it moves east, drawing energy from a strong collision between frigid air descending from Canada and the unusually warm air that has lingered in the southern United States, according to the weather service.
This follows thousands of flight delays and cancellations in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions earlier this weekend due to snow, as thousands headed to roads and airports during the busy travel period between Christmas and New Year's.
On the other side of the country, California was experiencing a fairly dry weekend after powerful storms lashed the state with heavy rain, flash floods, and mudslides. At least four people died, including a man who was found dead Friday in a partially submerged car near Lancaster, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reported.
[Publicidad]