If it feels like winter has been refusing to move on, Ryan Hall is basically saying: you’re not imagining it, and the atmosphere is still setting up for more trouble.
In his latest forecast on Ryan Hall, Y’all, Hall said he’s tracking new signals for a potentially disruptive winter storm that could stretch from the Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley and then up into the Northeast early next week, with a messy mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain still very much on the table.
At the same time, he warned the bigger story might not be any single storm at all, but a pattern flip heading into March that could change where the cold dumps, where the warm surges, and where storms start firing in a more consistent way.
A Growing Signal For A Wide-Impact Winter Storm
Hall opened by saying the signal has been building, and now it’s getting hard to ignore: the setup is starting to look like one of those large, sprawling systems where the “problem zone” can cover a huge chunk of the country, even if not everyone gets the same kind of weather.
He pointed to the day-five winter storm outlook and described a broad corridor where the probability of winter impacts is rising – cities like Des Moines, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Green Bay all sitting in that “watch this” zone.
Hall was careful with the wording, though, which matters with storms like this. His message wasn’t “everyone in the highlighted area gets buried.” It was more like: somewhere in that zone is going to cash in, and the only question is where the best overlap sets up between cold air at the surface and moisture riding in overhead.
Once the system shifts east, he said, the focus moves into Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and potentially southern New England – which is a pretty sensitive region right now after a historic blizzard just hammered parts of the Northeast.
Hall emphasized he’s not calling it another monster blizzard, but he also didn’t minimize it. The way he framed it, this could still be the kind of storm that drops a “heaping helping” of snow somewhere, and even if totals aren’t extreme, the timing and the type of precipitation could create real headaches.
The Ice Risk: Cold Air Locked In, Moisture Sliding Over The Top
Where Hall’s tone sharpened a bit was when he started explaining the ingredients.
He said the key player is a strong arctic high sliding in from Canada this weekend – dense cold air that settles in at the surface and doesn’t like to move. Then, as Pacific energy rides in and Gulf moisture gets pulled north, you get that classic “overrunning” setup: warm, moist air riding over cold air that’s trapped below.
Hall called out that this is the kind of configuration that has produced major winter weather in the past, including the type of setup responsible for significant ice storms, because you can end up with snow aloft melting into rain and then freezing again near the ground.
He made the point that this upcoming system doesn’t look as intense as the biggest ice events, but he also said something important: somebody is likely to get a dangerous amount of sleet or freezing rain, and right now the uncertainty is still too high to name the bullseye.
In his breakdown, he noted the corridor for sleet/freezing rain could run from Kansas through Missouri into Kentucky, but he cautioned it could shift north or south by several hundred miles as the storm track becomes clearer.
That’s the part that tends to stress people out, because snow forecasts at least feel familiar. Ice is different. A half-inch of freezing rain can be more damaging than a foot of snow, and you can’t “plow” it the same way.
Snow Totals: Why He Showed A Map Anyway
Hall even joked about the fact that it’s too early for detailed snowfall maps, and then immediately pulled up a model blend map anyway – because people want a visual, and because it’s useful as a “where could this go?” tool.
He referenced the national blend of models as a conservative way to see where multiple models are hinting at snow potential. In that blend, he pointed out a rough corridor where totals were showing up in a meaningful way – Des Moines to Chicago, then east through Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and into the I-95 corridor with Philadelphia and New York showing moderate totals on that guidance.
The numbers on that blend weren’t huge, but Hall said he believes it’s probably low, and that wherever the heaviest snow bands set up could exceed those totals. He also repeated the warning that it could just as easily end up half the shown totals in some places, depending on the storm’s track and where precipitation transitions.
In other words, he was giving a “best guess corridor,” not a promise.
A Sneaky System Before The Bigger One
Before the next-week storm even arrives, Hall flagged a smaller system that could still cause problems.
He said there’s a sneaky little setup moving through that could throw down a light stripe of snow from parts of the Midwest into the Mid-Atlantic – mentioning a ribbon that could run through Illinois, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Charleston, West Virginia, and potentially Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.
His expectation sounded like a “skiff to a scoof” in many places – nothing major, but enough to make roads slick, especially where temperatures are marginal and traffic is heavy.
Farther south, he said, that same system leans more toward cold rain and even thunderstorms, with the Southeast looking like it could pick up pockets of heavier rain and some lightning as the day progresses.
He also pointed out a bigger theme in the precipitation outlook: over the next week, a lot of the more consistent rain totals may stay focused in the Southeast, especially across parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, the Carolinas, and into the southern Appalachians.
That matters because it’s another sign of the atmosphere trying to shift into a more active spring-style moisture feed – even while winter still has a grip elsewhere.
Cold From Alaska, Warm From The South, And A “War” In Between
One of the more vivid moments in Hall’s forecast was how he described the temperature contrast building.
He said the cold air feeding the next-week storm is coming straight from Alaska, with a powerful front diving into the northern Plains this weekend. He talked about potential readings plunging toward extreme territory again in the far north – deep cold returning to parts of the northern Plains.
But then he contrasted that with what happens at the same time farther south: areas like Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas pushing toward warm, springlike temperatures, even flirting with the upper end of the scale in some spots.
Hall described it like a real war between air masses, and that’s meteorology in plain English: when you have that kind of clash – dense cold on one side, warm Gulf-fed moisture on the other – you increase the odds of big, high-impact systems.
He also made a point that’s easy to miss if you’re only watching day-to-day: despite the cold shots, the two-week temperature averages can still end up above normal in many places because the warmth that follows is so strong it flips the overall math.
That’s how you can have people saying, “We’re freezing,” while the climate averages say, “Actually, it’s running warm overall.” Both can be true when the swings are that dramatic.
The March Flip: The Signal That Could Change Everything
Hall’s “new signals” line wasn’t just about the early-week winter storm. It was also about what he sees developing as the calendar turns.
He said that for the first time in a while, there are hints of a different arrangement setting up—cooler trying to work into the West, warmth expanding east, and a configuration that could become a more classic spring storm pattern if it locks in.
He warned that certain setups are exactly what you don’t want to see as storm season ramps up, because they can open the door to repeated Gulf moisture surges into the Plains, and that’s where storm tracks can start firing more frequently.
Hall didn’t claim certainty about exact dates or exact outbreak zones, but he did deliver the takeaway in a way that felt pretty clear: the atmosphere is trying to reorganize, and if it does, it could lead to more active storm production as March gets going, including heavier rain and stronger storms in parts of the central U.S.
His closing tone was basically: don’t panic, but don’t tune out either – winter may be lingering, and the next phase may not be quieter.
Winter Storms Don’t Need To Be “Historic” To Be Dangerous
One thing that gets lost after a massive blizzard is that people start grading every storm against the last one, like anything smaller doesn’t matter. That’s a trap.
A “moderate” snow on top of already huge drifts can still clog roads, block driveways, and strain snow removal crews. A few inches paired with wind can still shut down commutes. And if the system tilts toward sleet and freezing rain, you can trade “pretty snow” for downed lines and crashes in a hurry.
So when Hall talks about uncertainty, it isn’t him hedging—it’s him admitting the part that matters most is still unresolved: who gets snow, who gets ice, and where the line sets up.
The storm next week will get the clicks, but the pattern shift is the kind of thing that can shape multiple forecasts in a row.
If the warmth keeps surging north and cold keeps dropping in behind it, you can get a conveyor belt of setups that don’t feel like winter is ending at all – just changing form. And once Gulf moisture starts flowing more regularly, you don’t need perfect ingredients for storms to pop; you just need enough instability and a trigger.
That’s why Hall’s warning about March felt like more than weather chatter. It sounded like a heads-up that the atmosphere is loading a new routine – one that could replace blizzards with a different kind of chaos.
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.
