What do the northern snow and southern rain have in common? These two systems will merge to become the next big winter storm for the eastern two-thirds.

A frigid air mass across the northern tier - seriously, have you seen the TemperatureRadar? - will descend south and eastward running into the warmer, water-laden air mass, which is producing showers across the southern Plains through the Southeast on Monday.

Once these air masses make contact, around Midnight to 2 a.m. local time tonight, their meeting point will have enough energy to produce snow and a frozen mix from the central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic, with the biggest impacts happening from the Midwest to I-95 on Tuesday into Wednesday morning.

Notice a pattern in where this winter storm is showing up? The last two winter storms, since the middle of the first week of February, have come across this path dropping snow, ice and rain. The polar jet stream has been parked over the same area since the first system came through, producing an icy scene from the Midwest to the Appalachians.

The jet stream will be positioned in the same area again for this next storm, which is allowing for the northern cold air mass to meet up with the southern warm air mass. It will change its positioning starting Wednesday which will usher in a brand new, quick-hitting winter storm.

The next system will zip from the central Plains to the East Coast right behind this first storm. Snow, ice, heavy rain and even severe weather will be a part of the second winter storm beginning Wednesday and lasting through Thursday. Here's a preview on the WeatherRadar.