Although the calendar says “May,” temperatures this week may feel more like late winter than mid-spring, thanks to a cold weather pattern that will trap cold air in most eastern and western parts of the country.
After a weekend that included more severe weather in parts of Virginia and Florida, cooler temperatures may seem like a welcome change amid calmer conditions.
The weather pattern means some parts of Michigan saw more than a foot of May snow, while some residents in the west could also see snow accumulations at higher elevations and more rain could move into the Ohio River Valley and mid-Atlantic.
Here's what to know about Tuesday's weather.
Cold and snow in the Great Lakes region
Snow began falling in the area over the weekend and more than a foot fell in Michigan's Upper Peninsula before the system exited the area. In fact, the National Weather Service Forecast Office In Marquette, Michigan, 25.8 inches of snow has fallen since Sunday night.
Other areas could see 4 to 8 inches of snow before the storm weakens and moves east on Tuesday, according to the weather service.
Temperatures drop as the system moves east
Temperatures in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast were below average to start the week, and will get colder as the storm system creeps eastward from the Great Lakes, forecasters say. Fortunately, the system's “main band of precipitation” is expected to bring rain to the Ohio River Valley and parts of the Northeast, but it should be mostly rain — with any snow accumulations limited to higher elevations.
Unstable weather in the west
The low pressure system is expected to move south along the West Coast with initial impacts — cold temperatures, scattered rain and some snow at higher elevations — limited to areas of the western Sierra Nevada and parts of western Washington and Oregon, depending on the weather forecast. service. Scattered thunderstorms are possible in the northern and central Rockies on Tuesday as well, and flooding concerns remain due to rapid snowmelt.
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