More Snow and Cold for Great Lakes

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

January 21,2013; 8:01PM,EST

The initial Arctic blast has arrived, but the Great Lakes are looking at even colder conditions, lake-effect snow and local whiteouts much of the week.
Cold air continues to move in early this week, with a few waves of precipitation across the Great Lakes, New England and the mid-Atlantic.
But now, gusty westerly winds will be bringing the frigid air over the northern Plains across the Great Lakes, creating lake-effect snow that will be sticking around for a while.

RELATED: Lake-Effect Snow Machine: Feet of Snow This Week

As of Monday morning, lake-effect snow was already bringing sizable accumulations early in the game. Areas just south of Erie, Pa. have received over 10 inches of snow with similar amounts over parts of Michigan.
Through the week, shifting bands of lake-effect snow can bring local amounts of several feet.
In combination with the anticipated winds, gusts over 30 mph have the potential to bring down visibilities with near white-out conditions in the snow bands.

In addition, even colder temperatures are on the way for the Great Lakes and Northeast.
While the coldest temperatures are expected to remain in the northern Plains, areas in western Michigan and Indiana will be bitterly cold.
Monday's highs are expected to be in the neighborhood of 20 degrees below-normal.
Daily highs will make it to double digits most days, but lows for the beginning of the week will drop below 10 in many towns and cities, and will approach the 0-degree mark over the countryside.
Highs in western New York and northern Pennsylvania are expected to be in the teens by the middle of the week. Overnight lows will be in the single digits.
Temperatures dropped off quickly on Sunday afternoon, allowing for 20-degree temperature changes in Boston, Philadelphia and Nashville in about seven hours.