weather.com meteorologists
A winter storm will dump heavy snow in California's Sierra and the northern Rockies before developing into a Northern Plains blizzard later this week with dangerous travel likely in the Dakotas and northern Minnesota.
Right now, snow is blanketing the mountain West from the Cascades into the Sierra, Great Basin and northern Rockies.
Winter weather alerts are active from Southern California to the Upper Midwest.
(INTERACTIVE MAP: Current Radar)
This storm has much more left. Here's the latest forecast for the West and Plains.
Timeline
Snow will fall over the high country of the West from California to the northern Rockies, before shifting east into the rest of the Rockies and Southwest Wednesday and Wednesday night.
There will also be bands of locally heavy rain that could trigger flash flooding and some debris flows on land recently burned by wildfires in California, including the L.A. Basin, through early Wednesday.
Wednesday night, a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain will begin to spread into the Northern Plains.
As low pressure east of the Rockies intensifies, snow will become heavy in the Northern Plains Thursday, continuing Thursday night before tapering off Friday over northern Minnesota and far northwest Wisconsin.
How Much Snow, Ice, Wind
Multiple feet of snow are expected in California's Sierra, which could make travel dangerous, if not impossible, at times, through Wednesday, including Interstate 80 through Donner Summit.
In Southern California, snow may fall at elevations as low as 4,000 feet Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Over 6 inches of snow is expected above 6,000 feet, with winds gusting over 50 mph, at times, leading to dangerous travel in the high country.
Heavy snow will also lead to slippery travel in parts of the Rockies and Great Basin.
In the Northern Plains, heavy snow accumulations of at least 6 inches are likely in parts of the Dakotas into northern Minnesota. Some of these areas may pick up over a foot of snow from the storm.
Also, parts of the eastern Dakotas may pick up some accumulations of freezing rain or sleet up to one quarter inch, before changing to snow. This could lead to icy roads and possibly some tree damage and power outages.
Winds will intensify Thursday into early Friday, with frequent gusts from 40 to 60 mph over the Northern Plains from the Dakotas into northern Nebraska and Minnesota.
The combination of these winds and heavy snow will likely produce blizzard conditions that could prompt the closure of roads, including stretches of Interstate 29, 90 and 94, for some period of time during the worst of this storm.
If you have travel plans in the Northern Plains Thursday and Friday, we would strongly consider either completing them before the storm, or delaying them until after the storm is over.
The Northern Plains is America's "Blizzard Alley", and for some in the eastern Dakotas, this may be the first measurable snowfall of the season after a recent mild stretch of weather.
Storm Summary
Parts of the high country of northern Washington state have picked up 1 to 2 feet of snow. Up to 6 inches of snow has been reported in the Spokane, Washington, metro area. Numerous accidents on slick roads were reported in Missoula, Montana, Monday.
Check back with us at weather.com for the latest on this storm.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
No comments:
Post a Comment