Meteorologists warn of 'intense' snow in Great Lakes states, record lows in South

CHICAGO — Large swaths of the U.S. prepared for one of the season’s first blasts of wintry weather Sunday as temperatures dipped and snow fell in the Northern Plains, snowstorms developed eastward across the Great Lakes and the South prepared for a big chill.

Flurries fell Sunday across parts of the Chicago area, a precursor to “intense” snowfall forecast to start in the evening in communities surrounding Lake Michigan. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning into Monday, predicting wind gusts of up to 30 mph and as much as 18 inches of quickly-falling precipitation, along with thundersnow, a condition when thunderstorms combine with snow.

Lake effect snow expected to continue tonight and increase in intensity for many locations through early this week. This may lead to sudden drops in visibility and quickly deteriorating road conditions. Here is the latest snowfall forecast. ????️ pic.twitter.com/4xBE5dIoHn

— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) November 9, 2025

“This band is going to drop some very heavy snow and some hairy scenarios for the Monday morning commute,” said weather service meteorologist Kevin Doom in Romeoville, Illinois.

Meteorologists said conditions for road travel in northeast Illinois would be “dangerous to impossible” from snow accumulating faster than 3 inches per hour.

As temperatures dropped across the nation’s midsection, meteorologists warned of hazardous travel conditions through winter weather advisories for Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. Snow fell Sunday in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where meteorologists warned of low visibility with up to a foot by Monday. In Indiana, weather experts predicted up to 11 inches of snow and “slippery surfaces” for road travel. Up to 6 inches of snow were predicted in parts of Wisconsin.

“Patchy blowing snow” and wind chills hovering near zero were expected in portions of Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. Some areas got measurable fluff a day earlier, including 4 inches of snow in southwest Minnesota and more than 5 inches in slices of northern Iowa.

Cold weather warnings were issued for Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, with freezing temperatures predicted through Monday morning for a large swath of the South, from Texas and Oklahoma to Alabama and Georgia.

Weather experts issued special guidance for gardeners, saying the freeze warning means the growing season has ended.

“Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold,” warned meteorologists in Arkansas.