Major snowstorm to hit US Midwest and Plains

The season's first major snowstorm will sweep across the US central Plains and western Midwest early this week, dumping up to 12 inches of snow, a forecaster predicted Monday.

"Things will probably shut down on Tuesday with the snow coming in," said Mike Palmerino of DTN Meteorlogix. "The clean-up will then slow things down on Wednesday," he added.

The storm was expected to slow the movement of hogs and cattle to market, which should support live cattle futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

The storm will bring strong winds, blowing snow, rain and thunderstorms to the Midwest early this week.

The forecast for Tuesday called for snowfall ranging between five and 12 inches. Temperatures will be in the high teens in the north and 20s degrees Fahrenheit in south (-8 to -5 degrees Celsius).

"The next storm is what everyone is worried about. There is a lot of concern," said an Iowa hog dealer.

Palmerino said the storm would mainly hamper the movement of hogs in Iowa, northern Illinois and southern Minnesota, and to a lesser extent, cattle.