The FOX Forecast Center is tracking a powerful coast-to-coast storm that will bring blizzard conditions to millions of people living in the Plains and Upper Midwest Tuesday and could significantly impact travel before life-threatening wind chills move into the region.
After the powerful coast-to-coast storm moved out of the Rockies, the low pressure system became better organized over the central Plains starting Tuesday morning and has started to produce intense snowfall across South Dakota and portions of North Dakota and Minnesota.
As the storm continues on its eastward track, snow is expected to continue to fall across those regions and pick up in intensity.
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More than 1.2 million people in the Plains and Midwest are currently under Blizzard Warnings that stretch more than 800 miles from Wyoming to Minnesota.
Others inside the storm but just outside blizzard criteria are included in various Winter Storm Warnings, Winter Storm Watches and Winter Weather Advisories.
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The FOX Forecast Center expects 1 to 2 feet of wind-driven snow across the Dakotas, as well as portions of extreme northwestern Minnesota and northwestern Nebraska.
Amounts higher than 2 feet are also possible in portions of South Dakota, including the Rapid City area, as the storm continues to strengthen and sweep across the northern Plains.
Snow is expected across the western U.S. and stretching into the northern Plains and Upper Midwest on Tuesday.
The heaviest snow on Tuesday is expected in portions of eastern Wyoming, as well as northwestern Nebraska, North and South Dakota and into Minnesota.
By Tuesday evening, the heaviest snow will be falling in the Dakotas and Minnesota, with temperatures in the teens across the northern Plains and into the 20s in the Upper Midwest.
The National Weather Service is warning that this storm could potentially break snowfall records, and it’s likely that there will be severe travel disruptions, as well as extreme dangers to livestock that are exposed to the elements.
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And like with previous storm systems that have taken similar tracks across the U.S. over the past several weeks, there is a significant risk of dangerous severe weather for portions of the central U.S. starting on Tuesday.
Snow will still be falling across portions of the Dakotas and Upper Midwest on Wednesday, but as the storm continues to move out of the region, snow will begin to taper off from west to east.
Temperatures are expected to be in the 20s in places like Fargo and Bismarck in North Dakota, while cities like Minneapolis will see temperatures around 40 degrees.
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With the storm system farther into Canada by Thursday, the only lingering effects from the potentially record-breaking blizzard will be seen in northeastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and portions of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.