Winter Storm Ezra Recap: Ice, Snow and Wind To Northeast After Hitting Midwest With Blizzard-Like Conditions

We'll Be Keeping An Eye On Weekend Storm

A winter storm that formed from a low pressure system coming off the Central Rockies two days after Christmas developed into a significant storm with winds, snow and ice all threatening the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast.

The storm was named Ezra by The Weather Channel.

Winter Storm Ezra slammed the Midwest with strong winds, rain, heavy snow and ice before shifting its focus to the Northeast. Many of these areas were impacted by Winter Storm Devin just a week before.

Travel was nearly impossible in some spots as heavy snow combined with strong winds created blinding, blizzard-like conditions.

Along with Ezra's winter weather impacts, the storm also brought severe weather on Dec. 28. At least 6 tornadoes have been confirmed by storm surveys from local National Weather Service offices, including one EF2 tornado near Decatur, Illinois. An EF1 tornado touched down near Groveland, Illinois, just south of Peoria, snapping trees and power lines along its path.

(WATCH: Tornadoes Rip Through Central Illinois)

In Boston, Indiana, located east of Indianapolis, a wind gust of 67 mph was reported. Numerous trees and powerlines were knocked down across the region due to wind.

A snow squall in Detroit caused a massive pileup on Interstate 75 involving more than 20 vehicles.

Snowfall totals anywhere from 4-7 inches were reported around the Twin Cities, with higher amounts across northern Wisconsin. Nearly a foot of snow was reported near Mercer, Wisconsin, and nearly 2 feet of snow in Marquette, Michigan.

(NEWS AS IT HAPPENED: Crashes, Power Outages and More)

The storm strengthened as it moved through the Great Lakes and into New England.

On Lake Erie, gusts up to 80 mph caused a strong seiche and an 8-foot surge of water near Buffalo. Water levels dropped near Toledo, Ohio, and people were briefly able to walk on the bottom of Lake Erie.

By the morning of Dec. 30, all that was left was ongoing lake-effect snow across the Great Lakes.

Big Chill Flooded Down The Plains, Too

After a record-breakingly warm Christmas across much of the country, Ezra ushered in a bitter cold that flooded much of the country.

In some spots, temperatures dropped by 30-40 degrees.

Take Minneapolis and Des Moines, which had highs of 35 and 43 on Dec. 28, respectively. But by the next day, they dropped below 20 for their highs. Chicago saw highs in the 50s on Dec. 28, while St. Louis was at a pleasant high of 71. On Dec. 29, both cities didn't get out of the 20s.

In the South, Dallas and Atlanta had a high in the 70s on Dec. 28, specifically 79 in Dallas and 71 in Atlanta. The cold air arrived in the South with Dallas not getting out of the 50s on Dec. 29, Atlanta with a high barely climbing in to the 40s the day before New Year's Eve.

Rob Shackelford is a meteorologist and climate scientist at weather.com. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia studying meteorology and experimenting with alternative hurricane forecasting tools.