The winter storm is expected to bring snow, freezing rain and tornadoes to parts of the United States

A winter storm moving through the Central Plains and upper Midwest this week is expected to bring heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain to parts of the United States, while tornadoes could form farther south, officials have warned. responsible.

The storm is expected to bring snowfall to the central high plains as it tracks northeast into the Great Lakes, likely producing moderate to heavy snow, ice pellets and freezing rain by Tuesday, said the National Weather Service.

“Intense snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour may be accompanied by thunder, particularly in southern South Dakota and extreme southwestern Minnesota,” the weather service said in an update. Monday morning forecast. More than 12 inches of heavy snow is expected to quickly accumulate from the Nebraska Panhandle to southwestern Minnesota, he said.

Gusty winds are also expected to produce patches of blowing snow and blowing snow, which the weather service says could lead to snowy roads and reduced visibility, creating potential travel hazards.

The weather system is also expected to bring significant freezing rain to parts of northeast Nebraska through southern Minnesota, the National Weather Service said. He warned the freezing rain could pose other travel hazards and cause power outages.

Moisture from the western Gulf of Mexico is expected to move north over the western Gulf Coast/lower Mississippi Valley as the plains front moves in moisture bringing showers and severe thunderstorms to the area on Monday morning, the weather center said. An increased risk of severe thunderstorms over the lower Mississippi Valley was issued Monday through Tuesday morning.

The thunderstorms could bring frequent lightning, violent gusts of thundery winds, hail and “a few tornadoes,” the National Weather Service said.

Heavy rain is also expected in connection with the thunderstorms, with the Weather Service issuing a slight chance of excessive precipitation over parts of the middle/lower Mississippi Valley Monday through Tuesday.

“Associated heavy rains will primarily create localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads and small streams being most vulnerable,” the weather service said.

There is an increased risk of severe thunderstorms Monday afternoon and evening in parts of eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas and northern Louisiana.

Nearly 19 million people are in the risk zone for storms that can produce tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, torrential rains and hail.

Parts of Arkansas, western Tennessee, northern Louisiana and eastern Texas also remain under flood watch through Monday evening.

On Tuesday, severe storms are expected to continue to rumble eastward and affect areas of the Tennessee Valley and the central Gulf Coast.

It comes after a “once in a lifetime” blizzard claimed dozens of lives last month, with New York’s Erie County, which includes Buffalo, at the center of the storm’s most intense conditions.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the storm was “probably worse than anything this city has seen in over 50 years.”