Overview
- Intense lake-effect bands are producing heavy snow in Great Lakes snowbelts, with National Weather Service warnings citing localized totals up to 12–18 inches and hazardous commutes.
- Freeze watches and warnings stretch from the Lower Mississippi Valley into parts of Florida for Monday night into Tuesday, with inland lows in the 20s and feels-like temperatures in the teens and low 20s.
- More than 105 million people are under winter, freeze and lake-effect alerts, according to National Weather Service bulletins compiled Sunday.
- Gusty northwest winds of roughly 25–35 mph are expected to create blowing snow in bands and drive wind chills well below actual temperatures from the Midwest to New England.
- Forecasters attribute the outbreak to a disrupted polar vortex and deep jet stream trough sending Arctic air south, with temperatures expected to moderate by midweek.