At a Glance

Winter Storm Oaklee will bring snow to the mountain West through Wednesday.It will track into the Southern Plains and Midwest with snow and damaging ice by midweek.The storm will finish up its journey by delivering snow and ice to the Northeast late week.

Winter Storm Oaklee will spread snow and potentially damaging ice from parts of the West to the Southern Plains, Midwest and Northeast through the end of the week.

Oaklee is following right behind Winter Storm Nancy, which is tracking across the nation's northern tier early this week. For more details on that storm, .

Since arctic air will be more expansive for Oaklee, it will leave its snowy and icy imprint farther south than Nancy.

Winter storm warnings, winter storm watches and winter weather advisories have been issued by the National Weather Service along a portion of Oaklee's future path, from the higher elevations of California into the southern and central Rockies, Southern Plains and Ozarks. Expect additional winter weather alerts to be issued along the future path of Oaklee.

(Issued by the National Weather Service.)

Storm Timing

Through Tuesday Night

Oaklee will deliver snow to the higher elevations of California and the southern and central Rockies.

This could be the coldest storm of the year for , where snow may fall at elevations as low as 2,000 feet by Tuesday night. This could trigger major travel problems in the Southern California high country, including the Grapevine, Interstate 15 north of the Inland Empire and Interstate 8 through the San Diego County mountains.

Snow is also expected in parts of Nevada, northern Arizona, Utah and the mountains of Colorado.

Rain showers could dampen lower elevations from California into southern Arizona. Some of those showers could be accompanied by lightning and small hail or graupel along the California coast.

Gusty winds will also howl through the Southwest, and that might contribute to some blowing dust where rain isn't falling.

Wednesday

The storm will begin to spread into the central U.S. by Wednesday.

Icy or snowy travel could impact areas from northern Texas into the mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys through the nighttime hours.

Snow will linger over the central and southern Rockies, as the upper-level system from this storm lags behind.

Thursday

Freezing or sleet could spread from northern and central Texas into the Ozarks and Ohio Valley on Thursday.

Accumulating snow is expected from portions of the central Plains into the Great Lakes.

By late Thursday or Thursday night, the wintry mess of snow and ice will begin to move into the Northeast.

New York City could see a period of accumulating snowfall followed by a transition to a wintry mix and then rain on Thursday night. Areas farther north and west across New England and upstate New York are likely to remain all snow during this storm.

Hazardous travel conditions are expected in all of these areas.

Friday

This wintry mess will finish up in the Northeast on Friday.

For now, the heaviest snow is expected from northern Pennsylvania into upstate New York and much of New England, with sleet or freezing rain on the southern end of that wintry mess.

Expect all rain in the New York City metro on Friday. Portions of coastal southern New England could transition to a wintry mix or rain, as well.

Snow and Ice Forecast

Snow

Parts of the central and southern Rockies could pick up at least a foot of snow from Oaklee.

Areas from central Oklahoma into southern and central Missouri, the northern Ohio Valley and southern Great Lakes will see at least some light to locally moderate snowfall accumulations from Oaklee.

Heavier totals of at least 6 inches are likely from northern Pennsylvania into upstate New York and New England. Some of these areas might pick up to a foot of snowfall.

Ice

Icing could be enough to at least slicken travel in areas from central Texas into eastern Oklahoma, the Ozarks, Ohio Valley and parts of the mid-Atlantic as far east as the New York City tri-state area.

More damaging ice accumulations capable of downing trees and knocking out power are possible from eastern Oklahoma into northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. However, we cannot rule out this possibility in other areas within the ice threat zone.

(MORE: How to Prepare For a Winter Power Outage)

(The most significant icing threat is in areas shaded darker pink and purple.)

The two winter storms this week could also contribute to flooding and severe thunderstorms, from near the Ohio River into the South. For more details, .

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