Weather across America

(NATIONAL) A late season winter storm hammers parts of the Upper Midwest and northern Great Lakes, and cooler weather returns to the Eastern U.S. to begin the work week.

A strong low pressure system over the northern Great Lakes region Sunday evening will combine with an unseasonably cold airmass over the Upper Midwest to produce an impactful late season winter storm across western Wisconsin, the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and the Arrowhead of Minnesota.  High snowfall rates on the northwest side of the surface low within the deformation zone will result in rapidly accumulating snow across these areas, with the potential of 6 to 12 inches of heavy wet snow and isolated higher totals possible. 

Gusty winds can also be expected here as well, and reducing visibility and producing wind chills into the teens. Therefore, winter storm warnings are currently in effect through Monday evening, and a smaller area of blizzard warnings just south of western Lake Superior, with dangerous travel conditions expected.  Lighter snows are likely over the remainder of Michigan and even across northern Illinois and Indiana.  Conditions are expected to ameliorate going into Tuesday as the low moves away and mostly sunny skies return.

The trailing cold front from this low pressure system will exit the East Coast by Monday morning for areas south of New England, heralding a return to more seasonal temperatures to begin the work week after multiple days of anomalous June-like warmth across the eastern half of the nation. 

Showers are likely to continue going into Monday across New England before the fronts clears this region later in the day.  There may be some lake effect snow downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario, but not to the extent of the snow expected farther west.  Drier conditions are expected going into Tuesday and beyond as surface high pressure settles in.

The western U.S. will also have some precipitation to deal with as a few Pacific disturbances move inland across the northwestern quadrant of the nation.  Heavy snow is expected across the higher terrain of the Cascades and Olympic Mountains, and extending to the northern mountains of California, and also for the higher terrain of the northern Rockies.  

A well defined cold front crossing the Intermountain West early in the week is also forecast to generate gusty winds, and fire weather conditions are likely from eastern New Mexico to northwestern Texas for Monday and Tuesday. Some strong to severe storms will also be possible across the western High Plains on Tuesday as a dryline develops and intercepts increasing moisture from the western Gulf of Mexico.