Wind gusts of up to 65 and 120 mph are expected to blow across the plains, combined with snow to create blizzards for nearly 2 million people in the Upper Midwest.
“The high winds will usher in more seasonal conditions with temperatures generally in the 30s to low 40s on Thursday,” said CNN Meteorologist Taylor Ward.
As the storm rises toward the Midwest, cold air behind the system will be greeted by enough moisture to unleash sustained snowfall, gusts of wind, and periods of blizzard-like conditions in parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Eastern Dakotas.
“Travel may become impossible because of the wind and the lack of visibility with the blizzard,” warns CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers.
The system is in no rush to move across the region, however, as the impact on millions of people across the Great Lakes could last well into Friday.
Prolonged snowfall, accompanied by periods of heavy, lake-effect snow on Lake Superior’s south shore, will lead to wide coverage of 3 to 6 inches of snow in the Upper Midwest, with the highest totals likely between 6 and 10 inches in Minnesota and northern Wisconsin .
As the system progresses eastward from Thursday night to Friday, spells of snow, rain, and a winter mix will affect parts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
Rain and snow reach the northeast on Friday evening
A secondary low-pressure system will form along the cold front when the system reaches the east coast from Friday evening to Saturday morning.
While it promises a boggy start to the weekend for the Northeast, most of the area will see rain, not snow, thanks to the relatively mild January temperatures.
Places like New York City and Boston will be in their mid-40s Saturday, with half an inch to an inch of rain, as opposed to the several inches of snow they would see if the temperatures were colder.
Snowfall on Friday evenings and Saturdays is limited to Upstate New York and northern New England. For the most part, even those locations are expected to only see about 2 to 5 inches, although a few of the favorite, higher-lying spots can see more than half a foot of snow.
Generating the storm’s powerful winds has been the difference in air pressure between a strong high pressure zone in the southwest and the incoming layer from the northwest.