AccuWeather meteorologists warn that the stormy pattern is likely to persist across the central and eastern U.S., dishing out another wave of everything from snow, wind and rain.

Not one, but two storms are forecast to take a cross-country journey during the week ahead.

"This is a multi-phase event, where several pieces of energy in the atmosphere will stretch out across the country to make the storms far-reaching," explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Joseph Bauer.

The first storm started to impact the Pacific Northwest coast and the central Rockies early on Monday, before pushing across the central-eastern U.S. late Monday through the middle of the week.

As the storm rolls northeastward into Wednesday, it could take a track similar to the dangerous storm that led to travel chaos across the nation's midsection this week, but it may be less intense.

On the northern side of the storm, the jet stream diving southward in the West will have enough cold air to open the door for the air to flood into the northern Plains.

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Snow is expected to start across Wyoming and the Dakotas Monday before spreading into Colorado and the Upper Midwest through Tuesday.

"A swath of plowable snow is expected from Wyoming and Colorado through northern Nebraska and the Dakotas to Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Michigan," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff.

A widespread swath of 6-12 inches of snow is expected from the central and northern Rockies to the Great Lakes region. Amounts ranging from 12-18 inches of snow can occur from the North Dakota and South Dakota border to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Higher amounts ranging from 18-24 inches can occur along the far western coastlines of Lake Superior, but an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 30 inches is possible, especially in the Great Lakes.

"The snow is likely to create slippery conditions on roadways, including on portions of interstates 25, 29, 35, 70 80 and 90," explained Duff.

In addition to the snow, motorists should be cautious of some stronger winds. Wind gusts of as strong as 30-40 mph are possible on the northwestern side of the storm, stretching from South Dakota and Nebraska to Iowa and southern Minnesota. This will create blowing snow and could bring reduced visibility when the wind kicks up.

Farther south, mild conditions across the central U.S. will allow for any precipitation to fall as rain. As cold air dives farther south behind the storm, a small stripe of icy conditions are possible from northern Missouri into southeastern Michigan. In this zone, precipitation may start as rain, change over to ice and then end as some snow. Several hours of ice may be possible in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago and into central Michigan.

Much of the south-central United States is expected to stay dry while this storm passes off to the north. However, it does not mean the region will go totally unscathed.

"Gusty winds are expected across portions of New Mexico as well as northern and western Texas late Monday into Tuesday," Duff said.

The winds streaming over this dry area are expected to keep vegetation dry and will likely elevate the fire risk across this zone. On Sunday, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches around the Texas Panhandle for the elevated fire threat. By Sunday night, they were expanded to include parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas as well.

As this storm moves into the Northeast late Tuesday and Wednesday, a brief lull in stormy weather is expected for the Plains and the Midwest. However, a second storm will follow suit, bringing yet another round of difficult travel.

After bringing snow and cold to portions of the Southwest midweek, this second storm is expected to travel through the central and eastern United States Wednesday night into Friday.

The second storm is more likely to bring wintry precipitation farther to the south and east in the Central states, since colder air will settle in and linger after the first storm.

Places like St. Louis and Oklahoma City that are expected to be warm enough to have rain with the first storm Monday night and Tuesday will drop as much as 30 degrees by Wednesday, allowing for wintry precipitation with storm number two. Meanwhile, some locations getting the most snow with the first storm across the northern Plains may end up dry with the second wintry wave.

After all the active weather this week, a more extended lull in stormy weather is likely for the second half of the week. Temperatures are forecast to remain slightly below normal for the northern and central Plains during this time.