ST. LOUIS – The social media hype machine began buzzing late last week about the potential for another major winter storm to hit the Midwest. That storm is currently crossing the central Pacific, thousands of miles from St. Louis. Those graphics promising another big snowfall have been replaced by a big cold.

While it’s difficult to predict the storm’s exact path this far in advance, it is all but certain to be pushed well south of St. Louis and the Interstate 70 corridor due to the arrival of an Arctic blast.

This cold front is expected to hit the Midwest by late weekend, likely suppressing the storm track into the Gulf of Mexico. While there is still uncertainty, some areas of the southern United States may experience a major snow and ice storm, particularly from Houston to Atlanta.

In our area, the heavy snow threat is replaced by a high-confidence bitter cold forecast that grips the region from late this weekend into the middle of next week.