Winter storm to hit US from Calif. to Midwest

A winter storm moving in from the Pacific Ocean was expected to bring a foot or more of snow and 75 mph wind gusts to mountainous areas of California on Tuesday, before aiming for the Midwest and laying down a wintry blanket as it goes, the National Weather Service said.

 Even coastal Californians would feel the storm's wrath in the form of high winds and heavy rains, forecasters said.

Meteorologists said the storm originated in the Gulf of Alaska and was taking a southerly course that would hammer California before the system turns inland and strikes as far northeast as Chicago and the Midwest.

Mountainous parts of Los Angeles, San Diego and Ventura counties in California were under winter storm warnings, and snow could present a danger on mountain highways, including Interstate 15 the weather service reported.

Those on the Southern California coast were expected to see see wind-whipped waves. High-surf advisories, predicting waves up to 10 feet, have been issued from Ventura County south through Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

Up to two inches of rain could fall in some areas as the storm moves through, and high winds and snow are likely to also cause problems inland, in heavily populated Riverside and San Bernardino counties, both of which are under winter storm and high-wind warnings.

Weather Channel meteorologist Nick Wiltgen said that as the storm moved eastward, cold air from Canada and moist air from the western Gulf of Mexico would mix to bring snowfalls of up to an inch an hour for several hours, setting the stage for a "major winter storm" over the Plains that could produce double-digit snowfalls along the Interstate 80 corridor. Just to the south, an icy mix could make travel treacherous.

Chicago is expected to get heavy snowfall later in the week (Thursday night into Friday).

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