Arctic air sweeps across the U.S., dumping deep snow on the Great Lakes and freezing the South
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From rain to whiteouts overnight
Winter arrived suddenly across the United States. What began as a cold front turned into a full-scale Arctic outbreak, dumping more than a foot of snow across the Great Lakes and driving temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below normal from the Midwest to Florida.In Chicago, IL, thunder mixed with snow as gusty winds swept through the city overnight. Some suburbs woke up under more than 10 inches of powder, while others just a few miles away barely had a dusting. The heaviest bands set up south and north of the city - Kankakee County saw blinding snow squalls, while Kenosha County, WI, recorded 13 inches. In Big Bay, MI, totals reached 14 inches by morning.
“Travel is nearly impossible where these bands hit," the National Weather Service (NWS) warned, as whiteouts snarled traffic along Interstate 57 and surrounding highways. The storm came with the season’s first real taste of winter - and for many, it was a shock.
Great Lakes snow machine roars to life
The snow was classic lake effect - narrow, intense bands fueled by freezing air sweeping over the still-warm waters of the Great Lakes. Totals jumped wildly between neighborhoods. Drive ten minutes, and it looked like a different world.Across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, northwest Indiana, and northeast Ohio, snow piled up fast. Erie County, PA, was forecast to pick up between 6 and 11 inches, with locally higher amounts in the hills. In Buffalo, NY, and Rochester, forecasters said light snow would evolve into heavier bands late Monday and gradually shift eastward Tuesday.
“This is some of the coldest air we’ve seen this early in the season," said Chad Merrill, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “That’s why the snow totals are so strong and the flakes are reaching as far south as the Appalachians."
Record cold spreads across the South
The same Arctic air mass that triggered the Great Lakes snow barreled southward, freezing states unaccustomed to November frost. Birmingham and Huntsville, AL, barely reached the 30s Monday morning. Savannah, GA, was forecast to plunge to 28°F - its earliest temperature that low in nearly fifty years.Even Florida was not spared. Jacksonville was expected to dip to 30°F, the coldest early-fall reading since 1976. Farther south, Melbourne saw its first sub-60-degree day this early in more than 85 years. Wind chills across the Florida Peninsula dropped into the 20s and 30s overnight.
“The Florida Peninsula will shiver," the National Weather Service warned, urging residents to cover plants, bring pets inside, and prepare for record-setting chill.
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Arctic blast unleashes over a foot of snow in Great Lakes, record lows in the South and FloridaSnow in the Appalachians - and even Atlanta
As the Arctic front pushed through, snowflakes began falling in places that rarely see them before winter. Atlanta, GA, reported light flurries Monday afternoon. In the Appalachian highlands of West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, several inches of snow accumulated, especially on higher peaks. Strong winds swept through the ridges, dropping visibility and knocking down tree limbs.A brief but brutal cold snap
By Tuesday, the polar air had entrenched itself over the eastern two-thirds of the nation. Washington, D.C., and New York City were expected to wake up near freezing, with wind chills in the low 20s. Freeze warnings stretched from the Mississippi Valley to the Virginia Tidewater.The good news - it will not last long. Meteorologists say milder air is already returning to the central United States and will spread eastward by midweek. But for now, from the blinding snow of Buffalo, NY, to the shivering palms of Naples, FL, winter has made an early, dramatic entrance.
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