At a Glance

Winter storms in February are typically widespread.Olive's snowfall could extend continously for 1,600+ miles.That will happen where cold air and jet stream disturbances overlap.

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W​inter Storm Olive will be a seriously expansive snowstorm, at some point Wednesday night, Olive's snowfall could extend continuously for 1,600+ miles from Montana to Maine.

(​FULL FORECAST: Winter Storm Olive)

S​o why is this storm so big?

February winter storms like Olive typically occupy a lot of real estate because cold air is usually plentiful and the jet stream is strong.

Sufficiently cold air for Olive will stretch from the West to the Northern Plains and Great Lakes while leaking southward out of eastern Canada into northern New England and parts of the interior Northeast.

T​he jet stream will also be very energetic, taking a sharp nosedive into the West, then ejecting strong impulses across the Plains and into the Northeast.

This will generate low pressure along the front, separating cold air from sharply warmer air over the Southeast. Moisture pulled northward will override the cold air, wringing out the snow, sleet and freezing rain alluded to earlier.

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