Winter Storm Ethan Brings White Christmas To Midwest, Northeast

For many Americans, a white Christmas won’t just be a dream this year.

Winter Storm Ethan swept through the central Rockies and parts of the Midwest over the weekend , blanketing swathes of the region in fresh powder. The storm is expected to bring snow, heavy in some areas, and gusty winds to parts of the Northeast on Monday.

More than 50 million Americans from Iowa to Maine received winter weather alerts on Sunday , NBC News reported. Travelers have been warned to watch out for icy conditions on the roads  and potential disruptions to air travel. O’Hare and Midway international airports in Chicago reported minor delays  on Sunday. Several flights were also canceled.  

Parts of New England and New York state are expected to see the biggest impacts from Ethan on Christmas Day, according to the Weather Channel.

It’s going to be ”a white Christmas for a lot of locations which originally looked a little questionable whether or not we’d have at least an inch of snow on the ground,” Danielle Bank, a Weather Channel meteorologist, told NBC. “We’re going to see a lot of 3- to 5-inch amounts. We know that for sure.”

Meteorologists say the cold snap is only just beginning. Below-average temperatures are expected across the northern U.S. through the new year.