The National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings for states that lie between the Great Lakes and New England because of Winter Storm Ethan.

The hurricane season has been replaced by the winter storm season in the United States and Ethan is one of strongest storms, promising snowy Christmas, accompanied by strong gusts of wind for people living in the Midwest and northeastern region of the nation, the Weather Channel reported.

Winter Storm Ethan has already brought medium to heavy snowfall in states like Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Ontario. It is presently moving eastward into the Upper Ohio Valley and toward the Northeast.

About 15 inches of snow is estimated to have fallen in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on Saturday, while Denver received a few inches too. At the same time, the Midwest was caked in over three inches of snow and further east, parts of western Nebraska received around half a foot of snow.

On Christmas, a low pressure is expected to develop in the Northeastern coast as well as near the Great Lakes and intensify as Winter Storm Ethan makes its way east.

The three weathering phenomena will have a combined impact the northeastern states, bringing heavy snowfall throughout Monday, with parts of New England and New York State expected to get the most impacted.

People living in or planning to travel to northern New Jersey into far southern New York, southern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island might face difficulties in commuting due to light freezing rain or sleet.

Around 50 million people living between Iowa and Maine were warned to expect icy weather conditions while out on the roads, over the weekend. People also faced disruptions in air travel as airports such as Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway International informed passengers of minor delays. Additionally, a number of flights were also canceled.

Gusts of winds might blow at 50 mph from New York's Hudson Valley southward into the southern Appalachians. Areas like Cape Cod, which are at a higher altitude, are expected to experience greater wind speed.

Danielle Bank, a Weather Channel meteorologist, told NBC that enjoying a white Christmas might not remain a dream for a major chunk of the U.S.

It’s going to be ”a white Christmas for a lot of locations which originally looked a little questionable whether or not we’d have at least an inch of snow on the ground,” Bank said, the Huffington Post reported. “We’re going to see a lot of three to five-inch amounts. We know that for sure.”

On the other hand, a dark Christmas might also become a reality since coastal areas in the northeast, where heavy snow is not expected, might experiences power outages over the holidays.

The impact of Winter Storm Ethan is going to last way beyond Christmas, meteorologists predict. Northeastern states can expect the aftereffects from the winter storm to carry on through the New Year.