Snow, wind, and freezing temperatures are lining up like a bad combo—so the National Weather Service has issued winter weather alerts for communities across five states, with the message pretty blunt: get ready for either snow, strong winds, or the kind of cold that creeps under your defenses.
The winter weather advisories, freeze watches, and high wind warnings cover conditions expected to hit from Monday into Tuesday morning, with several places facing plummeting temperatures and heavy snowfall. The list includes Alaska, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, where the NWS says subzero temperatures could kill unprotected crops and outdoor plants, and damage outdoor pipes. Blowing snow is also a travel problem, cutting down visibility and making driving difficult.
Even where snow is less expected, the wind still shows up like it owns the road. Montana isn’t forecast to see snow, but parts of the state are expected to get very strong winds—reaching up to 90 mph in some places—through Tuesday. The NWS warns those winds could blow down trees and power lines, raising the odds of power outages. In the Kuskokwim Delta Coast and the Nunivak Island and Western Capes, the NWS expects up to 6 inches of snow alongside winds around 40 mph through Monday, lasting until around mid-morning on Tuesday.
Blowing snow there could reduce visibility to less than half-a-mile, and the NWS says travel could become “very difficult.” That phrasing feels a little too familiar for anyone who’s driven in poor visibility—yesterday it was fine, and then suddenly your headlights look like they’re cutting through milk. Actually… it’s not like that exactly, but you get the idea. At the same time, Athens, Jackson, Morgan, Perry, Vinton, and Washington Counties in Ohio are likely to see temperatures fall to around 34 degrees Fahrenheit through mid-Monday morning, before dropping again to near-freezing levels overnight and into Tuesday morning.
Subfreezing temperatures hovering between the mid to low 20s degrees Fahrenheit could hit parts of central, south central, southwest, and west-central Ohio from Monday night into Tuesday morning. Communities there could also stay in the mid-30s degrees Fahrenheit until mid-Monday morning. For Guernsey, Monroe, Muskingum, and Noble Counties, the NWS has warned to expect “subfreezing temperatures in the upper 20s” from late Monday night until Tuesday morning. Temperatures could then dip to around 29 degrees Fahrenheit across Decatur, Rush, Shelby, Henry, and Randolph Counties until Monday morning and again through Monday night into Tuesday.
Across Indiana, parts of central, east central, north central, and west-central Indiana could see similar temperatures—just a bit colder at 28 degrees Fahrenheit—from late Monday night until Tuesday morning. East central and southeast Indiana may slide into the low 20s during that same window. In Illinois, areas in central, east central, and west central Illinois could drop as low as 28 degrees Fahrenheit from Monday night into Tuesday morning.
Montana’s wind story doesn’t really let up. Central and north-central Montana are expected to experience southwest to westerly winds reaching up to 75 mph—strongest along and west of Interstate 15 and north of the Montana Highway 200—throughout Tuesday. The Madison River Valley in southwestern Montana could see up to 60 mph wind gusts through Tuesday, and residents are being urged to “secure loose objects that could be blown around or damaged by the wind.” Meanwhile, winds gusting around 65 mph are likely in places below 6,000 feet across the Western parts of Madison and the northwestern parts of Beaverhead County from Tuesday morning until Tuesday evening. The front, foothills, and plains of the Rocky Mountains, along with the eastern Glacier, Western Toole, and central Pondera Counties, are expected to get winds around 40 to 50 mph through Tuesday, with gusts reaching up to 90 mph at times. The NWS cautions that blowing dust could reduce visibility, making driving difficult—particularly along Interstate 15 between Shelby and the Canadian border.