Heavy winter snow seen for Eastern US

Big snow events may return to the U.S. Northeast and mid-Atlantic as well as the central and southern Appalachians this winter, forecasters say. Meanwhile, parts of the Midwest could fall short of normal snowfall again this year as it did in last winter's unusually warm condition, AccuWeather.com reported in its annual U.S. winter forecast. Storms could unleash above-normal snowfall in eastern cities as the winter setup should allow large storms to form off the East Coast, forecasters said, with the chances of big snowstorms during the middle to latter part of the season, including January and February. In the Midwest, in contrast, the forecast is for below-normal snowfall this winter. "Across the Upper Midwest, cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, I think, are going to miss out on the big systems down to the south as far as snowfall goes," Accuweather's Paul Pastelok said. In the U.S. Northwest there are growing concerns of building drought conditions as dry weather is expected to continue straight through the winter season, forecasters said. "We have already set up the stage here at the start of fall with wildfires and drought conditions," Pastelok said. "With the exception of a break with some rain and snow during October and early November, it will be drier than normal through the winter season and maybe even longer as we head toward spring."