Winter Storm Warning Issued for 10 States as Snow Squalls to Hit

Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of 10 states as a strong winter storm that made landfall from the Pacific earlier in the week moves across central western states, bringing "widespread snow squalls" as it progresses.

The National Weather Service issued alerts for Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, warning of blowing snow and strong winds.

In its latest forecast, the NWS said the storm will continue to progress through the West on Tuesday, reaching the central Rockies and causing significant snow accumulations in mountain regions.

"Snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour will move into the Great Basin and central Rockies on Tuesday," the NWS said. "These snow rates combined with winds gusting 50-65 mph will produce near-blizzard conditions with significantly reduced visibility and snow-covered roads leading to dangerous travel."

The weather agency also said that "widespread snow squalls are expected to develop along the path of the cold front from Utah to Wyoming and Colorado." In these areas, "intense snow rates will produce rapid drops in visibility and icing on roadways."

In west-central Washington, additional snow accumulations of up to a foot are expected across the Cascades, with a further three feet of snowfall anticipated from Tuesday evening through Thursday afternoon.

In the Blue Mountains of Washington and Oregon, snow accumulations of up to five inches and winds of 35 miles an hour are forecast.

Western and north central Wyoming are also set to face bands of heavy snowfall, with up to 18 inches of snow and winds gusting as high as 80 miles an hour creating widespread blowing snow and whiteout conditions at times. Up to a foot of snow is anticipated in the Sierra Madre and Snowy ranges in the south of the state.

These weather conditions are anticipated to continue into southern Montana, where up to 14 inches of snow will drift due to 40-mile-an-hour winds. An avalanche warning is in effect for the mountains around Cooke City.

Up to two feet of snow and wind gusts of up to 60 miles an hour are predicted across central Utah.

In west and central Colorado, accumulations of up to 28 inches are expected at higher elevations, with winds as high as 75 miles an hour creating areas of blowing snow and near whiteout conditions in some places. Travel is set to become very difficult to impossible, with wind chills bringing the potential for frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

This will continue into the Sangre de Cristo and Tusas mountains of northern New Mexico, where as much as two feet of snow is set to fall with winds gusting as high as 70 miles an hour. Whiteout or near-blizzard conditions are expected in the region.

Up to 10 inches of snow and winds gusting as high as 50 miles an hour are predicted to result in near-blizzard conditions when the storm progresses in eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota.

The NWS said that much colder air is anticipated to follow in the wake of the storm, with temperatures plummeting into the teens and single digits. Another powerful winter storm is set to arrive over the Pacific Northwest late on Wednesday.

It follows a pair of powerful atmospheric river storms from the Pacific Ocean which brought widespread flooding to California earlier in the month.

Western states have already faced several bouts of heavy snowfall so far this winter, having been subjected to a "prolific series" of atmospheric river storms that brought a rare blizzard warning for Seattle in early January.