WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- The eastern half of the United States could fall under the sway of a potent storm that may bring a mix of rain, ice and snow, forecasters said Monday.
Heavy rains and thunderstorms erupting Monday from Texas through the lower Mississippi Valley will reach into the Midwest, central Appalachians and parts of the mid-Atlantic states by Tuesday night, bringing ice, freezing rain and snow to those areas, Accuweather.com reported.
By late Tuesday, forecasters said, snow will spread into major cities from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic, including Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Philadelphia. The icy mix will then spread into central and eastern New England Wednesday.
Meanwhile, heavy snowfalls buried parts of the U.S. West Monday, with more than a foot of snow predicted to accumulate through Tuesday morning in the Cascade Mountains and the northern Rocky Mountains, Accuweather.com said.
Gusty winds created hazardous winter driving conditions in the mountain passes, with Washington state officials closing Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass, the state's major east-west highway.
