Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of nine states as snow is predicted at a rate of up to two inches an hour, causing low visibility blizzard conditions in several places.
Travel could become near impossible in some areas as winds gust up to 60 mph and freezing temperatures hit 24 F.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued alerts for Alaska, Colorado, the Dakotas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wisconsin. Blizzard warnings are also in place for parts of Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Utah.
In its latest forecast, the NWS said a low-pressure weather front that developed over the weekend, and had already brought heavy snow to the Midwest, would continue to cause a wintry mix of precipitation through Tuesday, including sleet and freezing rain.
"Heavy snow and gusty winds approaching 50 mph will produce blizzard conditions with near zero visibility into early Tuesday. Travel could be nearly impossible," it said. "Power outages and tree damage are likely in some areas due to the heavy and wet snow combined with icing and strong winds."
The same system brought unsettled weather to the West into the weekend, before strengthening over the Plains region on Saturday.
In northwest Michigan, up to four inches of snow is forecast, along with patches of freezing rain causing a thin glaze of ice. Across northern Wisconsin, up to nine inches of snow is predicted, along with some ice accumulations.
This weather will worsen into Minnesota, where counties bordering Lake Superior are set to see up to a foot of snow along with winds gusting as high as 40 mph that will create blizzard conditions by Monday afternoon. Ice accumulations are expected.
In North Dakota, up to seven inches of snow and winds of 40 mph are anticipated, causing areas of blowing snow. This will continue into South Dakota, along with ice accumulations. In south central South Dakota, eight inches of snow and winds of 45 mph are predicted to create blizzard conditions.
Moving into Nebraska, a central swath of the state is under blizzard warnings, as eight inches of snow and winds of 55 mph are expected to create areas of blowing snow. These conditions will continue to be felt in northwest Kansas, where five inches of snowfall will be whipped up by 60-mph winds.
Across mountain ranges in central and southern Colorado, up to 18 inches of snow and winds of up to 45 mph are expected. Conditions will worsen in east central Colorado, where blizzards riding on 60-mph winds could reduce visibility to less than a quarter of a mile.
In the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and surrounding areas of northern New Mexico, between one and two feet of snow is expected on mountain peaks, with up to a foot at lower elevations. Winds are anticipated to reach 55 mph.
Earlier in the month, a powerful winter storm from the Pacific brought in excess of 12 feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada range, as well as several feet of snow and blizzard conditions to higher-elevation regions of neighboring states.
Another winter storm made landfall earlier the same week before moving into the Intermountain West, bringing intense snowfall from Utah to Wyoming and Colorado.
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Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more
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