Winter Storm

Winter Storm Spreads Snow And Wind To The Great Lakes

At a Glance

A snowstorm will hammer the Great Lakes into early Saturday.
The combination of snow and wind will make travel hazardous in some areas.
Blizzard conditions are expected in parts of the Midwest.
High winds are expected in a much broader area of the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast.

Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletter to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.

A strong springtime winter storm is spreading snow and wind across parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast.

This system has been named Winter Storm Uriel by The Weather Channel

This storm is the same one that entered California on Tuesday. It has also triggered a tornado weather outbreak in the South and Midwest.

Here's a look at which areas will see snow and strong winds in the coming days.

Timing Out The Snowfall

Happening Now: Snow and rain are falling from parts of the Upper Midwest into the Great Lakes as the center of low pressure moves northeastward through the Great Lakes. Some rain, sleet, and freezing rain is falling in New England.

Areas around Rapid City and the adjacent Black Hills have already picked up to 15 inches of snow.

The combination of snow, ice and wind will make travel difficult in some of these areas. White out conditions are ongoing from parts of South Dakota into southwestern Minnesota with lowered visibility in Iowa overnight.

Saturday: Lingering snow and wind are possible in parts of the western Great Lakes before all snow ends by afternoon.

High Winds A More Widespread Threat

St. Joseph, Missouri, clocked a 74 mph wind gust that was not from a thunderstorm Friday afternoon. Gusts over 60 mph were also clocked in Lawrence, Kansas (68 mph), and Colorado Springs (66 mph). Shingles were ripped off of a home from high winds in Sedan, Kansas.

Strong winds are expected for a broader area of the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast, even in areas that will see rain or thunderstorms instead of snow. Tree damage and power outages are concerns in some of these areas.

The National Weather Service has issued high wind warnings for much of the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic, from southern Ohio and West Virginia to Maryland, including Washington, D.C.

Saturday: Wind gusts of at least 40 mph or higher will impact much of the East from the Carolinas to New England, the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes. Winds should finally die down in most of those areas Saturday night.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.