TIME TO FIND THE SHOVEL...

Snow has been falling over large parts of the Midwest since late Sunday afternoon or evening. As expected, many areas have seen (or are on track) for 3-7" accumulations. Here and there some 8-9" totals will make for really good sledding. Those will be isolated

As I make this post the storm is still in progress though beginning to wind down to my west. The surface low at 6:00am Monday should be close to Kirksville, Missouri.

Roughly, this is what total accumulations should look like once the snow stops. Some sweet lake enhancement is showing up from the north side of Chicago up to Milwaukee.

Following the passage of the storm the 500mb flow turns sharply to the northwest ushering in several days worth of cold temperatures.

Combine the cold with the fresh snow cover and you get highs that look like this on Monday.

There should be enough of a north winds to keep wind chills in the single digits and teens from my area north.

Something else to watch for will be near record cold. The GFS has lows that look like this Wednesday morning. With clear skies, light winds, and a mantle of snow, a few sub-zero readins are possible in parts of Iowa and Minnesota.

It certainly looks like it will take some time before temperatures get back to more typical levels. The 10 day temperature departure on the CFSv2 is impressive.

The worst of the cold for the Midwest comes in the front 5 days as you can see below.

Last but not least, Terry is a happy camper. After 84 consecutive days without a 1" snowfall here in Cedar Rapids, the latest report shows 3" and counting. That was an awful period and a record I hope to never see threatened again. That's all for now. Hoping to get more than 4 straight hours of sleep tonight. I'm running out of adrenaline! Roll weather...TS