DES MOINES, Iowa – The blizzard that has crippled parts of the Plains with nearly a foot of snow and whiteout conditions Monday is on the move as the storm’s low-pressure center peaks in intensity on its journey into the Great Lakes.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It’s terrible,” a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Kansas City said, describing the roads after arriving at work Tuesday morning.
At their office in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, the NWS said they had measured 4.5 inches of snow, and it was still snowing as a second swath of snow moved into the Kansas-Missouri border region. An additional 1 to 2 inches could come from this band, the NWS in Kansas City said.
As the snow tapers off in the Plains, the wind will stay strong, the FOX Forecast Center said. Gusts as strong as 40-plus mph will continue to blow around the freshly fallen snow, reducing visibility as areas try to dig out and restore travel to the region.
SEE BLIZZARD BLAST THROUGH PLAINS AS SNOW LIMITS VISIBILITY ON MAJOR HIGHWAYS
But as the storm moves to the east, the powerful winter storm will continue to hammer multiple states, with the heaviest snow and worst travel conditions occurring across northern Missouri, eastern Iowa, northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Parts of Interstate 70 in Kansas and portions of Interstate 80 in Nebraska were still closed Tuesday morning because of visibility concerns.
Winter Storm Warnings cover parts of six states from central Kansas up toward Wisconsin with the heaviest snow totals expected north of Chicago, Merwin adds.
WHAT MAKES A BLIZZARD DIFFERENT FROM AN ORDINARY SNOWSTORM?
“Keep in mind, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, you guys are getting a mixture of things,” Merwin said. “And so that’s going to lower your accumulations. But up through central portions of Wisconsin, it’s an all-snow belt … with the potential here of another 8-12 inches of snow for central parts of Wisconsin. This storm has the potential here of producing some really treacherous conditions.”
Tremendous travel impacts, both on the roads and by air, can be expected, the FOX Forecast Center said. Many flights have already been canceled or delayed Tuesday due to snow and wind at airports in Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City and Omaha.
“Chicago is one of those cities that are in the snow, but they’re going to transfer over to rain and then go back to snow,” Merwin said. “So when you have huge populated cities go through that transformation of a nasty, wintry mix, it adds to travel troubles.”
By the time the snow winds down Wednesday, 8-plus inches will have fallen in a corridor from Nebraska through northern Michigan.
While Winter Storm Warnings cover millions in the Midwest, the FOX Forecast Center said it is uncertain whether the snow, wind and low visibility will come together to produce official blizzard conditions. Due to this uncertainty, the Blizzard Warnings not extended east of Nebraska have since expired. But blizzard conditions were likely to have occurred in Nebraska on Monday.
“We’ve seen wind gusts stronger than 50 mph on the backside of this low. That’s why we (had) the Blizzard Warnings in effect,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin said.
More than 13.5 inches of snow has fallen in Lewiston, Nebraska, over the past 24 hours. The Nebraska State Patrol said they had responded to 50 weather-related accidents due to slick roads Monday.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, the video below shows why highways are shut down from Colorado to Oklahoma to Kansas.
Colorado teacher Rowen Monks said it took her an hour to drive 15 miles in blizzard conditions Monday as she was trying to get to school in Colorado Springs from her home in Limon.
“No wonder people get lost and die in these blizzards,” Monks can be heard saying in her video.
Most major interstates are still shut down in Kansas. Westbound Interstate 70 is closed between Salina and the Colorado state line, and eastbound I-70 is closed from the Colorado state line to Hays, Kansas, due to winter weather and reduced visibility, causing dangerous travel conditions.
Many secondary roads, including U.S. Highway 54, U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 83 are also closed in western Kansas due to dangerous travel conditions. Travelers are cautioned not to drive around the road closures, barricades and gates.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued a verbal state of disaster emergency on Monday evening, allowing resources to be prepared to provide state assistance.
“I encourage all Kansans to be cautious as the winter storm moves through our state,” Kelly said. “Stay off the roads if possible and be mindful of emergency response personnel working hard to keep our citizens safe.”
HOW COLD DOES IT HAVE TO BE TO SNOW?
Winter weather won’t just be felt across the central states. Before changing to rain, a thump of moderate to heavy snow will fall across the interior Northeast from Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday. This includes the same areas that received snow this past weekend.
The FOX Forecast Center said snow rates may touch 1 inch an hour – briefly rivaling those seen this weekend. A few inches of snow will be possible from Pennsylvania to Maine before the snow changes to rain.
The current pattern of the jet stream, dipping south over the center of the country, will drive another couple of storms from the West into the southern Plains and then to the Northeast late this week and into next week.
“I’ve been working with winter weather for over 30 years, and I haven’t seen many setups like this,” FOX Weather’s Winter Storm Specialist Tom Niziol said. “This is going to be not just one storm after the other, but one major high-impact winter storm after the other.”