Nearly 16 million people from Arizona up to Montana and across to Minnesota were either under a winter weather advisory or winter storm warning Monday morning, as a major winter storm continues to inch across the country this week, forecasters said.
The storm is expected to reach the Great Basin and the Desert Southwest by Monday, the Weather Service said, with those areas forecast to get up to two inches of snowfall an hour, which could make travel difficult.
By Tuesday, forecasters with the service said, the system could develop into a major winter storm from the central High Plains to the Upper Midwest, which could result in “multiple days of significant impacts to travel and infrastructure due to snow, blowing snow and freezing rain.” The Weather Service emphasized that “travel may become impossible” and warned that snow accumulations could be between six and 12 inches. Higher amounts, near two feet, were expected in parts of South Dakota and Nebraska. Accumulating ice was also a concern.
- Forecasters predict blizzard conditions across the Plains.“We are increasingly confident that we will be dealing with a pretty significant Northern Plains blizzard” this week, said Greg Carbin, the chief of forecast operations for the Weather Prediction Center.
- Severe storms, possibly with tornadoes, are expected across portions of the South. It looks highly likely that severe storms, possibly capable of producing tornadoes, will form on Tuesday across an area from eastern Texas to Arkansas, Louisiana and much of Mississippi, said Bill Bunting, the chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center.
- Snowfall in the Northeast. Some snow fell across southern New England and upstate New York on Sunday. In Albany, N.Y., there were about five to seven inches of snow, said Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the Weather Service.
Source: National Weather Service and New York Times and AccuWeather