A major winter storm that dumped feet of snow across the western mountains over the weekend is now expected to become a blizzard as it charges into the northern Plains in the week ahead, then will set its sights on the Northeast, where significant snowfall is a growing possibility later this week.
This is all associated with the same coast-to-coast storm that’s also expected to spawn a severe weather outbreak in the South from Monday night through Thursday.
The Dakotas will begin to feel the effects of the wintry side of the storm on Monday as freezing rain develops, which could quickly create a glaze of ice and cause any untreated roads to turn very slippery and exceptionally dangerous. Freezing rain is then expected to spread into southwestern Minnesota and northern Iowa on Monday night and continue into Tuesday morning.
An Ice Storm Warning is in effect for northeastern South Dakota due to the potential for 0.2 to 0.4 inches of ice accretion, which is heavy enough to pose threats of tree damage and power outages. Southwestern Minnesota and northern Iowa could see at least a quarter-inch of ice accretion, also posing a danger to trees and power lines.
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Heavy snow and high winds are then expected to arrive in the northern Plains by Monday night and may linger over parts of those regions into at least the middle of the week.
Blizzard Warnings have been issued for portions of southeastern Montana, eastern Wyoming, northeastern Colorado, western South Dakota and western Nebraska. Winter Storm Warnings, Winter Storm Watches and Winter Weather Advisories cover many other areas of the northern Plains and also extend into parts of the Upper Midwest.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, the areas included in Blizzard Warnings could be dealing with blizzard or near-blizzard conditions by sunrise Tuesday morning.
“Remember, that’s blowing snow or falling snow, visibility drops to a quarter-mile or less (and) lasts for three hours,” FOX Weather meteorologist Craig Herrera said when explaining what a blizzard means.
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Travel will become extremely difficult, if not impossible, in these areas on Tuesday as the snow peaks in intensity and overlaps with 40- to 60-mph wind gusts. Snowfall rates could exceed an inch or two per hour.
On Wednesday, periods of heavy snow and 40- to 60-mph wind gusts will continue to pummel the northern Plains as the snow also expands into Minnesota and portions of northern Wisconsin. However, lower winds between 20 and 35 mph should prevent any blizzard conditions from occurring in the Upper Midwest.
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The winter storm should finally begin to exit the region on Thursday, though a few nuisance snow showers could linger in some areas into Friday.
Snowfall totals could exceed 2 feet in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota, with 1 to 2 feet of snow also likely in many other areas of the western and central Dakotas, eastern Montana, eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska.
At least 6 inches of snow is expected to pile up across the rest of the northern Plains, extending into parts of the Upper Midwest, including northern and central Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
In what could be the final chapter of this highly impactful coast-to-coast storm, the FOX Forecast Center said there is a growing possibility that an area of low pressure could develop near the East Coast as this system slides into the Northeast late in the week.
If it forms, the secondary area of low pressure would have the potential to bring significant snow, rain and freezing rain to parts of the Northeast between Thursday and Saturday.
The strength and exact placement of the low-pressure system will be key in determining where the wintry precipitation will set up and how heavy it may be.
It’s much too soon to predict with any certainty where the rain/snow line will set up, but it does appear that at least plowable snow will fall where the air stays cold enough. At this time, the interior Northeast is favored for the highest snowfall amounts.
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Be sure to check back with FOX Weather for updates on both the wintry side and the severe side of this coast-to-coast storm in the week ahead.