Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of 14 states as meteorologists predict a "multiple hazard storm" will bring extreme weather to many parts of the U.S., including blizzards, tornadoes and flash flooding in places.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued warnings for Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Washington, cautioning about difficult travel conditions and whiteout conditions in places.
In its latest forecast, the meteorology agency said a snowstorm will develop over the central and southern Plains on Monday morning, before moving into the Midwest into Tuesday.
"Bursts of heavy snow may accumulate up to two inches in an hour, and result in hazardous travel," it said, warning of wet snow in the northeast on Tuesday afternoon and a "ferocious blizzard" from New Mexico into Nebraska with winds as high as 70 miles an hour making travel "extremely dangerous to impossible."
In northeastern Arizona, a few inches of snow are expected overnight into Monday producing slippery road conditions and patchy, blowing snow. Southeastern Utah will see snow accumulations of up to two inches and 30-mile-an-hour winds, while snow is also anticipated over the state's central mountains.
Snow of up to seven inches is forecast in parts of Colorado, with winds of 65 miles an hour in El Paso County. Up to a foot of snow is possible in northern mountainous regions of New Mexico including the Rio Grande Valley.
As much as nine inches of snow is possible in northern and central Kansas, with the highest amounts occurring near the border with Nebraska. Winds of 55 miles an hour are expected to cause significant blowing and drifting snow. Up to 11 inches could fall over northwest Missouri.
Portions of southern Nebraska could see nine inches of snow, with locally higher amounts, into Tuesday, with up to eight inches possible elsewhere in the state. Strong winds could bring down tree branches and make commuting hazardous.
Western and central Iowa is also expected to be impacted by the winter storm, with up to 11 inches of snow and winds as high as 40 miles an hour by Tuesday afternoon. Up to 11 inches of snow is anticipated in southwest Minnesota and southeastern South Dakota.
Blizzard warnings are also in effect for southeastern Colorado, northeastern New Mexico, the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, as well as western Kansas and far southeast Nebraska.
At the same time, on Monday and Tuesday night, another pair of "powerful" atmospheric river winter storms are expected to make landfall over the northwest, bringing several feet of heavy snow over the Cascades, with blizzard conditions likely.
Several feet of snow are expected to fall across the Cascades of Washington and Oregon, with wind gusts making blowing snow that will reduce visibility to a quarter of a mile or less. Up to a foot of snow is possible above 6,000 feet in Idaho's Central and Boise mountain ranges.
Parts of far northwestern Montana will see up to 22 inches of snow through to Wednesday, with high winds making travel very difficult if not impossible.
Western states have already faced several bouts of snowfall so far this winter, having been subjected to a "prolific series" of atmospheric river storms from the Pacific. Last winter, the West Coast experienced the effects of a similar weather front, with California seeing several rounds of flooding.
Severe thunderstorms are anticipated over Gulf of Mexico states from Monday night, capable of producing strong winds and tornadoes from southern Texas and into northern Florida. "Widespread and potentially significant river and flash flooding" are likely for the area, the NWS said, with coastal flooding likely for parts of the mid-Atlantic.
"Prepare for outages," the agency warned, with 50-mile-an-hour winds possible in Gulf and East Coast states.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
