Blizzard blasts western Great Lakes as US endures 'major cooldown': Monday weather forecast

Jordan Mendoza and Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
Updated ·3 min read
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After it began to seem as if summer were here, much of the U.S. will go back to feeling wintry chill this week, which includes a blizzard warning for portions of the western Great Lakes.

Folks across the country felt a brief period of warmth heading into the weekend. Some places reached as high as 90 degrees after weeks of cold, wet weather. But those chilly conditions returned Sunday, beginning in the Midwest, signaling a trend of storms set to take place over the next week.

Elsewhere, the National Weather Service said a front from the Pacific Northwest will bring another round of rain and snow to higher elevations of Northern California.

Here's what to know about the national weather forecast for Monday:

EXPLAINED: Fort Lauderdale saw 2 feet of rain in a day. How on Earth is that even possible?

'Major cooldown' for Midwest, Northeast

A rapid change in the weather has hit portions of the Midwest and Northeast. AccuWeather says higher temperatures in some areas will be more than 30 degrees lower than the Sunday high in those same places. Detroit, which had a high of 75 degrees Sunday, was expected to hit a high of only 42 degrees Monday.

"The major cooldown for much of the Midwest and the interior Northeast will arrive in the wake of a potent cold front set to track across the eastern United States through the first few days of this week," AccuWeather said.

The expected highs on Monday:

  • New York City: 70

  • Chicago: 41

  • Washington, D.C.: 70

  • Detroit: 42

  • Columbus: 47

  • Pittsburgh: 52

More snowfall, blizzard warnings for Great Lakes

Snow that began in the upper portions of the Great Lakes was expected to carry through Monday night less than a week after flooding concerns.

Portions of northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan were under a blizzard warning until late Monday, the weather service said. Forecasters added that "travel could be very difficult ... and should be restricted to emergencies only."

A few spots in Wisconsin already had picked up more than a foot of snow Monday morning. The highest total, 19 inches, was in Neillsville, the weather service said.

Chicago also reported snow Monday morning, just a couple of days after highs in the 80s.

Snow will accumulate in Minnesota, Wisconsin and western Michigan, as well as parts of Iowa and Illinois. A winter storm warning was in effect for much of Wisconsin and Minnesota until Monday night.

"After a tease of summer this past week which decimated the snowpack across much of the Upper Midwest, snow (has arrived) once again," AccuWeather meteorologist Matt Benz said.

Central US braces for storms

A hazardous-weather outlook was in place for the south Plains and the far southern Texas Panhandle. Thunderstorms were expected in the region beginning Monday afternoon. The outlook is for:

  • Northern, western, central and southern Oklahoma.

  • Northwestern Texas.

The advisory came as tsevere weather including downpours, hail and wind gusts up to 65 mph was expected, creating fire hazards in the region. The storm could move northward to Iowa by Thursday.

"With the next storm expected to develop in the center of the country this week, several days of severe weather are possible for the nation's midsection," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty said. "Depending on the evolution of the storm and how it develops, each day from Tuesday to Thursday could pose a more significant threat than the last."

US weather watches and warnings

National weather radar

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Weather updates: Major cooldown and an April blizzard