The same storm responsible for unloading feet of snow on the Sierra Nevada in recent days will turn its snowy side toward the central Rockies, northern Plains and Upper Midwest prior to the end of this week.
The clock is ticking on the winter of 2019-20, but weather conditions on the last day of the season will seem more like the middle of January for an approximate 1,200-mile-long swath of the central United States on Thursday.
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AccuWeather meteorologists are expecting an all-out blizzard to unfold over portions of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Colorado due to strong winds and a heavy rate of snow that can bring travel to a standstill.
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Blizzard warnings were issued Tuesday morning for portions of western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming.
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This image from 9:30 a.m. CDT Tuesday shows blizzard warnings in pink, winter storm watches in medium blue and winter storm warnings in dark blue. (NOAA/AccuWeather) |
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Travel along portions of Interstate 25, I-70, I-80 and I-90 will become difficult and may even be impossible for a time as temperatures plummet, road surfaces transition from wet to slushy to snow-covered and the visibility drops to near zero at times.
Gusts between 30 and 50 mph will cause the snow to blow horizontally and lead to significant drifting of the snow on the ground. The conditions may make it impossible to distinguish the road from the surrounding landscape.
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Cities forecast to be in the heart of the blizzard include Cheyenne, Wyoming; Scottsbluff and Valentine, Nebraska; Boulder, Colorado; and Rapid City and Pierre, South Dakota.
Moderate to heavy snow will fall farther west over the mountains in Wyoming and Colorado and will also extend northeastward to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
“A general 3-6 inches of snow is forecast to fall over parts of the central Rockies, central and northern Plains and the upper Great Lakes region,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
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“From 6-12 inches of snow is forecast in parts of Colorado, Wyoming and western Nebraska, as well as a portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 20 inches is most likely from southeastern Wyoming to northeastern Colorado and the Nebraska Panhandle,” Buckingham said.
In parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, northwestern Iowa, southeastern South Dakota and northeastern Nebraska, the storm will begin as rain. However, as colder air invades, snowflakes will fly and begin to accumulate on grassy areas first and then road surfaces as temperatures fall later Thursday and Thursday night.
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Temperatures will plummet during the latter part of the storm. Lows in the lower teens and single digits F are forecast in the snowfall area. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will dip below zero over much of the area that receives snow and in locations farther north over the Rockies and northern Plains. In addition to conditions turning downright bitter, wet and slushy surfaces could turn icy during Thursday night.
The cold air will keep its grip on the region on Friday, the first full day of spring. Spring officially arrives at 10:50 p.m. CDT and 9:50 p.m. MDT Thursday.
The same storm will fuel multiple days of severe weather over portions of the southern Plains and Mississippi Valley into Thursday night.
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But, the far-reaching sweep of colder air over much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation in the storm’s wake will end the threat of severe weather for at least several days.
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