Ryan Hall from Ryan Hall, Y’all opened his latest forecast by saying the weather map looked like it belonged in two different seasons at once, because the country was dealing with a blizzard in the Plains, while parts of the South were seeing snow that almost never shows up there.
He pointed out that the “big story” isn’t just what was happening in the moment, but what’s lining up late this week, when a potential winter storm could drag a messy mix of snow and ice from the Ohio Valley into the Northeast.
That kind of setup always gets my attention, because it’s the exact sort of storm that can look ordinary on one model run and then turn into a travel-wrecking headline once the atmosphere decides to cooperate.
And Ryan Hall didn’t sugarcoat it: the signal is there, the exact details are not, and that’s what makes it both fascinating and a little unsettling.
Snow In The South And A Surprise Hit Along I-95
Ryan Hall said the early action was already “pretty action-packed,” starting with something you don’t hear often: snow in Florida.
He even reminded viewers that just a few days earlier, Florida was so cold that iguanas were falling out of trees, and now the state was dealing with flakes instead of lizards.
According to Hall, that snow was expected to keep going for a while, with the wintry mess extending into central Georgia and parts of South Carolina, even if it wasn’t going to last all day.
He described the broader risk as a “slight risk” for winter storm issues, but he also noted it would wind down fairly soon, which is basically the weather equivalent of saying, “Yes, it’s weird, but it won’t camp out for long.”
Even so, he mentioned that while some places would flip over to heavy rain, the pattern still had enough cold air hanging around that a little snow was not out of the question in spots that usually dodge it.
Ryan Hall also talked about what was happening farther north along the I-95 corridor, saying winter storm problems were still in play from Washington, D.C., and Baltimore up through New York City, Boston, and into Maine.
He walked through it like a timeline, saying that in the early afternoon the snow could start getting going around New York City, and then become heavier later, including parts of New Jersey, Delaware, and the Delmarva area.
Hall said that by evening, even Long Island could be “all snow” as the colder side of the storm nudged farther along the coast.
He specifically called out Rhode Island, southeast Connecticut, and even areas toward Cape Cod as places that could see some “really heavy snow” and enough accumulation to make people do double-takes.
One of the most interesting things Ryan Hall said was that this storm had been “tough to predict,” and that some models just the day before showed a complete miss, only for the threat to snap back into place.
That’s the part that makes weather forecasting feel like trying to catch a fish with your bare hands – sometimes you think you’ve got it, and then it slips away, and then it shows up again right where you didn’t expect it.
The Plains Blizzard Isn’t About Big Totals – It’s About Whiteouts
While the East dealt with accumulating snow, Ryan Hall said the northern Plains were looking at a different kind of danger, with a “big enhanced risk” for significant winter problems in the Dakotas down into northern Nebraska.
The twist, Hall explained, is that it wasn’t necessarily a classic “huge snowfall totals” kind of storm.
Instead, he said the real driver was blizzard conditions, fueled by snow squalls that might only drop a half-inch to an inch, but would be paired with wind screaming up to 60 miles per hour.
He emphasized that the blowing snow is what turns a modest snowfall into a nightmare, because visibility can drop fast, roads can disappear, and people can get trapped in what feels like a moving wall of white.
Ryan Hall described it in a way that stuck: it could feel like a severe thunderstorm, except it’s snow, and the air is unbelievably cold.
He also said the wind chills could crash to around minus 20 degrees, or even lower in spots, which is the kind of cold that stops being “uncomfortable” and starts becoming dangerous in a hurry.
There’s something uniquely scary about a blizzard driven by wind more than snow depth, because it doesn’t have to be “historic totals” to be life-changing for anyone caught outside, stuck on a highway, or dealing with power issues.
And Hall made it clear that behind those squalls, even colder temperatures were waiting, which is often how winter storms pile on trouble – first you lose visibility, then you lose warmth.
Lake Effect, Clippers, And The Cold That Follows
Ryan Hall also flagged a weaker system – a clipper – moving through the Minneapolis region into parts of Wisconsin and Illinois.
He said it was expected to be light snow, but it mattered because it would “turn on the lake effect snow machine,” which is a phrase that sounds almost funny until you remember lake effect can bury towns under bands of snow that don’t quit.
According to Hall, after the first wave moved through, lake effect snow could stack up fast.
He talked about places between Erie and Buffalo potentially seeing over a foot of new snow just from lake effect by the start of the week, and he also mentioned the Tug Hill area as another hotspot that can get hammered when the wind lines up right.
Ryan Hall didn’t stop there.
He said parts of southeast Michigan – from around Traverse City down toward Grand Rapids – could also get into that “over a foot” zone thanks to lake effect adding more snow on top of everything else.
That’s the part that can feel unfair, because it’s one thing to get hit by a storm, but it’s another thing when the storm leaves and the lakes keep firing snow back at you like a second punch.
Then he shifted to the cold air following all of this, warning that another arctic blast was pushing in.
Ryan Hall said raw temperatures could sink to around minus 15 in Minneapolis, and he expected readings below zero in places like Milwaukee and Chicago, with wind making it feel even worse.
He also mentioned freeze warnings in parts of South Texas, which is a reminder that cold air doesn’t need snow to cause damage—sometimes the biggest mess is what happens to pipes, crops, and roads when temperatures dip where they usually don’t.
Late Week: The “Something” Is Clear, The Exact Threat Is Not
After laying out the immediate chaos, Ryan Hall shifted attention to what he clearly sees as the main event: a potential winter storm late this week into the weekend.
He referenced winter storm probabilities in the longer-range outlook, talking about a day-six 15% area over parts of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, and a broader day-seven 15% zone stretching from Indiana all the way to Maine.
Hall said the models have been consistent about one thing: something is likely to happen in that window.
But he also said that “something” has been a moving target, flipping between scenarios like an East Coast blizzard, a crippling Ohio Valley ice storm, a light snowfall for everyone, a flooding threat in the Appalachians, and basically everything in between.
That line – consistent about “something,” inconsistent about what kind – might be the best summary of long-range winter forecasting you’ll ever hear.
Ryan Hall walked through the GFS model, calling the run he showed one of the “more boring” versions compared to earlier, wilder runs, which is his way of saying the atmosphere still has a lot of decisions to make.
He described a cold front pushing through as early as Thursday, mixing with Gulf moisture and potentially laying down snow from Pittsburgh down through Kentucky, and maybe even tossing a few flakes toward Nashville.
But he said the bigger story could develop Friday into Saturday, when a stronger storm system tries to come together, again tapping Gulf moisture and then potentially developing a coastal low that turns it into a bigger Northeast storm.
Ryan Hall noted that on prior runs, the snow shield looked larger and more intense, and where the rain-snow line set up, it hinted at a potentially prolific ice storm from Arkansas through Tennessee and Kentucky into Virginia.
He also explained why ice is such a serious concern here, pointing to what he called an overrunning situation, where a shallow layer of cold air sits near the ground while warmer, moist air rides over the top.
In my opinion, overrunning setups are some of the most anxiety-producing winter patterns, because they can quietly turn roads into glass even when the radar doesn’t look “that scary” at first glance.
Ryan Hall said he has a strong feeling this is the kind of storm that “is actually there” and needs close watching, because the ingredients are close to perfect for something impactful.
He also cautioned that it’s still too far out to lock down specifics, but the signal is strong enough that winter lovers and winter haters should both pay attention, because either way, it’s going to affect somebody.
And that’s the honest hook here: Ryan Hall isn’t selling certainty – he’s showing a weather pattern that’s shifting hard, and warning that the late-week version of it could bring the kind of storm that turns normal routines into a whiteout scramble.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.
