At a Glance

A series of Alberta clipper systems will sweep through the Midwest and Northeast into next week.The system Sunday into Tuesday could produce the most significant snowfall accumulations.

A series of Alberta clipper systems will sweep through the northern tier of the United States into next week, dropping rounds of snow from the northern Plains to the Midwest and Northeast, with a few snow showers possible in parts of the South. For the latest on this snowy pattern .

While Alberta clippers don't typically evolve into powerful winter storms, they can produce localized bands of heavier snow and strong winds that often result in low visibility and hazardous travel conditions.

An Alberta clipper weather pattern will bring rounds of snow to the northern tier of the United States late this week into next week.

What Is an Alberta Clipper?

An Alberta clipper originates when warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean interacts with the mountains of Canada's Alberta and British Columbia provinces.

Alberta clippers are common in the winter when the weather pattern features a southward dip in the jet stream east of the Rockies.

Disturbances in the upper atmosphere and/or low-pressure systems near the Earth's surface dive down across the Midwest from Canada and rapidly charge eastward with snow, gusty winds and falling temperatures.

(MORE: Alberta Clipper Explained)

The name Alberta comes from where these systems often originate – in Canada's Alberta Province.

Clippers may be called different names depending on where they originate.

If the clipper originates from Canada's Saskatchewan Province, you may hear it referred to as a Saskatchewan screamer.

A clipper system originating from Canada's Manitoba Province may be called a Manitoba mauler.

The second part of those alliterative names refers to the fast movement of these systems, steered by the jet-stream winds aloft.

often develops in the Great Lakes snowbelts after an Alberta clipper departs because a cold air mass with winds turning out of a west or northwesterly direction typically settles in and blows over the relatively warmer waters of the lakes.