USA Today is warning America to bundle up because winter is finally about to kick into high gear after the last few mild weeks as cold air covers most of the central and eastern United States.

Bringing some snow but mostly frigid temperatures, the weather will hit the Midwest all the way to the Southeast in portions of Florida set to dip into the 30s.

AccuWeather meteorologist Max Video warned that unlike the previous cold snaps, this one looks ready to linger until the first day of winter on Dec. 21.

The high temperatures across most states will be around 20 to 30 degrees colder than they are on Monday, with highs near 40 degrees in the Northeast and 50 degrees as far south as Atlanta, according to AccuWeather.

Minneapolis has had unusually high warm temperatures for December and will go from the high 50s to not rising above freezing for the next two weeks, according to weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue.

Most areas will avoid snow but the heaviest will strike the northern Plains and around the Great Lakes over the next few days.

Blizzard warnings were posted for parts of the eastern Dakotas and northwest Minnesota where snow and wind gusts could reach up to 55 mph combined threaten drivers with dangerous travel conditions into Monday evening.

The National Weather Service warned that the conditions could expand into parts of the Upper Great Lakes overnight Monday and early Tuesday.

The snow will then shift into the lake-effect variety which usually strikes areas in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York State with significant snowfall.

“Places that will pick up the heaviest snow are the Tug Hill Plateau downwind of Lake Ontario, the south towns of Buffalo, and northern Michigan,” AccuWeather meteorologist Steve Travis said while warning that some places could have more than two feet of snow.

A storm is also in the forecast for the Southeast coast that could bring rain and snow along the Northeast coast throughout the week.

In Chicago, a number of flights were delayed due to high, intense winds on Monday while temperatures prepared to drop from 60 degrees to the low-30s, according to the National Weather Service.





A wind advisory will remain in effect until noon Tuesday, with gusts between 45 to 50 miles possible.

Southern California and the Southeast, however, will continue to have the dry, hot Santa Ana winds threaten to spread wildfire in the dry areas.

This Santa Ana event has been the strongest and longest ever, the weather service in Los Angeles warning that gusts of up to 80 mph possible.

"Extremely critical fire weather conditions will be the primary concern as we`ve received very little rain so far and fuels are parched and primed to burn with even the slightest ignition source," the weather service said.

-WN.com, Maureen Foody