US

Intense Storms Heading For Middle America And Northeast As National Weather Service Issues Warnings

(Photo by GUILLERMO ARIAS / AFP) (Photo credit should read GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
Font Size:

A strong winter storm will bring heavy snow to the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes starting Wednesday and is expected to last through Thursday.

The National Weather Service issued warnings on Tuesday that a strong Pacific storm will sweep over the Northwest, bringing heavy snow and strong winds from Colorado all the way to central Wisconsin, New York and New Hampshire. The extreme weather will create dangerous travel conditions, as snowfall rates greater than 2 inches per hour are possible across the region. The storm may also hit Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, and Nebraska.

A larger map of upcoming weather patterns shows almost the entirety of the country facing various forms of precipitation, including regions of heavy snow, severe storms, and freezing rain. (RELATED: Intense Video Shows Farmland Destruction As Salinas River Bursts Its Banks)

The huge winter storms come as California battles with the aftermath of back-to-back extreme weather events that started around Christmas 2022. At least 20 people have died in the state due to various hazards, including flooding.

The National Hurricane Center is also tracking a strange weather system over the Atlantic. The non-tropical low-pressure system was creating 60 mile-per-hour winds north of Bermuda, and despite being embedded in a cold air mass, was generating thunderstorms too. It’s unclear whether this system will develop into a rare January hurricane, but it is influencing the development of storms as far north as Maine.