— -- The official start of winter is still more than a month away, but about half the United States is already covered in snow.
Pedestrians make their way through downtown Cincinnati, Nov. 17, 2014, as the season's first snowfall resulted in thousands of power outages in the Cincinnati area.
Carrie Cochran/The Cincinnati Enquirer/AP Photo
Heavy snow is expected around the Great Lakes, approaching 2 feet in some areas; light snow showers will linger across the Upper Midwest and Ohio Valley through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Caelan Slate, of Nortonville, Ky., calls to say he is going to be a little late to work after losing control and landing his truck in a ditch of off the Pennyrile Parkway in Henderson County, Nov. 17, 2014.
Mike Lawrence/The Gleaner/AP Photo
Arctic air in the Gulf Coast and the Northeast will produce temperatures as much as 20 degrees below average.
Drivers cautiously make their way along I-196 at the end of the work day in downtown Grand Rapids, Mich., Nov. 17, 2014.
Emily Rose Bennett/The Grand Rapids Press/AP Photo
But at least Thursday’s temperatures “won't be quite as bitter," the National Weather Service said this morning.
