A powerful winter storm was sweeping east from the Plains on Sunday, driven by what meteorologists describe as an intense cyclone, setting off a chain reaction of snow, ice, rain, and severe weather expected to affect much of the country.
Snow and strengthening winds spread across the Upper Midwest on Sunday, where the National Weather Service warned of whiteout conditions and possible blizzard conditions that could make travel impossible in some areas. Snowfall totals were expected to exceed a foot across parts of the upper Great Lakes, with up to 2 feet possible along the south shore of Lake Superior.
In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, forecasters are warning that waves will likely top 25 feet on Lake Superior by dawn Monday, with significant waves also forecast for the other Great Lakes as well. The marine forecasts from the National Weather Service are used by the U.S. Coast Guard and the many commercial and recreational vessels that navigate the Great Lakes at all times of the year, said Ben Warren, a forecaster at the agency’s forecast office in Marquette, Michigan….