Lake-Effect Snowstorm Hits Great Lakes Region

A powerful lake-effect snowstorm began bearing down on the Great Lakes region late Sunday, prompting winter storm warnings across parts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin as meteorologists forecast up to 18 inches of snow in the Chicago area and heavy accumulations elsewhere through Monday.

The National Weather Service issued warnings for the Chicago metropolitan area, including Cook County in Illinois and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana, effective from late Sunday night until noon Monday. Officials described conditions as potentially "dangerous to impossible" for travel, with snowfall rates of up to two inches per hour, gusts reaching 30 miles per hour and visibility dropping to near zero in intense bands near Lake Michigan's shoreline. The storm's core is driven by a fast-moving low-pressure system that brought initial snow to the Northern Plains on Saturday and is now channeling cold Canadian air over the relatively warm Great Lakes waters, fueling the lake-effect phenomenon.

In Michigan, winter storm warnings cover counties in the southwest Lower Peninsula, such as Van Buren and Berrien, as well as parts of the Upper Peninsula including Marquette and Alger...