Updated Apr. 12, 2020 4:34 PM
A powerful storm tracking across the center of the United States into Monday will unleash bitterly cold air and heavy snow over the northern tier of the country.
The storm system will also produce a severe weather outbreak across the South Sunday.
By the end of the day Saturday, Great Falls had set a daily snowfall record as 5.4 inches of snow fell.
Falling temperatures and snowflakes continued to expand south and eastward into the Front Range and High Plains into Easter Sunday morning.
It will be a shock to the system in the Denver metro area as beautiful conditions with temperatures topping out at 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the day Saturday. But, as cold air surged southward, temperatures dipped below 30 degrees by Easter Sunday morning.
Along with the much colder air, 1 to 3 inches of snow will be possible during the day.
Similar conditions are expected along much of the Colorado and Wyoming Front Range and the High Plains on Sunday.
The combination of snow and wind will result in poor driving conditions along portions of interstates 25, 80 and 90 for anyone that needs to venture out on Easter Sunday.
Travel in and around Rapid City, South Dakota, and the nearby Black Hills area could be extremely difficult on Sunday as more than a half of a foot of snow is forecast to blanket the area. Across the higher terrain and northeast-facing slopes, snow may fall in excess of a foot.
This graphic shows some of the highest snowfall totals from the storm as of 3:30 p.m. CDT on Sunday, April 12.
Through the Easter holiday, accumulating snow will continue to expand eastward into the Midwest, including in Minneapolis and Rochester, Minnesota.
A sharp gradient in snowfall totals is predicted across southeastern Minnesota as the storm system passes by.
The current forecast calls for 3 to 6 inches of snow in Minneapolis, with lower totals that would likely target the northern side of town.
If the storm were to shift southward by a matter of only 50 miles, the city of Minneapolis would likely fall short of 3 inches of snow.
As the storm system continues to intensify into Sunday night, heavy snow and localized blizzard conditions are possible across portions of the Midwest.
Exactly how much snow falls on the central Plains and Upper Midwest may be dependent on how extensive the heavy rain and severe weather is across the Southern states on Sunday.
A large outbreak of severe weather could limit the amount of moisture that is available on the northern side of the storm system, and subsequently lead to lower snowfall totals.
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With that forecast factor in mind, an impressive April snowstorm is still predicted to target the Upper Midwest.
Widespread double-digit snowfall totals are forecast across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from Sunday night into Monday. Similar to the conditions expected across the Plains and Front Range, a powerful northerly wind is likely.
Marquette, Michigan, may end up with some of the highest snowfall totals from this storm system, with 12-18 inches predicted.
Accumulating snow will continue to target the Upper Peninsula during the day on Monday, with snowfall rates likely to be enhanced courtesy of Lake Superior.
Conditions will begin to calm down across the Plains and much of the Midwest on Monday as the storm system lifts into Canada.
In its wake, well below-average temperatures are forecast to encompass the center of the nation early this week.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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