Huge winter storm churns across northern US, threatening record snowfall

CHICAGO - A huge winter storm spreading across the US West into the Northern Plains and Midwest on Tuesday could produce blizzards and record snowfall, making road travel treacherous and disrupting air travel.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter storm, blizzard and high-wind advisories for a broad swath of the western and north-central United States. Up to 61cm of snow and winds of up to 97kmh were expected in some spots from Tuesday through Thursday.

Snow falling at a rate of 5cm an hour and gusty winds will make travel conditions treacherous and perhaps impossible in parts of the Northern Plains and the Upper Midwest, the service said in its forecast.

“Snowplough crews will be out working statewide, but this storm could be a doozy,” the Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a tweet.

While much of the US will grapple with cold, snowy weather over the next several days, parts of the South may, by contrast, see record high temperatures this week.

Some spots in the South may have temperatures that are over 37 deg C warmer than some places in the Northern Plains, the forecast showed. Orlando could hit a record high of 32 deg C, while the temperature is expected to drop to minus 27 deg C in Billings, Montana, the NWS said.

The slow-moving storm started over the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend, bringing

heavy rain to parts of California

and snow to the Sierra Nevada mountains.

On Tuesday, it was centred over the northern Rockies and the High Plains, including Montana and the Dakotas.

Starting from Wednesday, the storm will move into the Upper Midwest with “some of the greatest impacts in Minnesota and Wisconsin”, said Mr Frank Pereira, a forecaster with the NWS Prediction Centre in College Park, Maryland.

Late on Wednesday through Thursday, the storm will bring heavy snow and freezing rain to New England. New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine could get 30cm or more of snow, Mr Pereira said.

The lingering storm could also dump snow across California. Nearly all of the state’s 39 million residents will either witness snow falling or be able to see the tops of nearby mountains covered in snow this week, University of California, Los Angeles, climate scientist Daniel Swain said.

Preparing for blizzards

In California, the NWS issued blizzard warnings from early Friday through Saturday evening for Los Angeles County mountains, Ventura County mountains and Santa Barbara County interior mountains. The agency said these areas will also be under a winter storm warning until Friday and advised people against travelling.

Officials in Minneapolis told residents to prepare for blizzard-like conditions on Wednesday and Thursday, telling them to move their vehicles off the streets. The city of 425,000 people could see up to 50cm of snow, which would be the most for a February snowstorm and one of the top five heaviest snowfalls of all time in a Midwestern city already renowned for its brutal winters, said the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

Weather conditions were quickly deteriorating in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota on Tuesday. Snow bands and strong gusty winds were causing white-out conditions in Great Falls, Montana, the NWS said.

The storm will cause wind chill temperatures to drop to minus 31 deg C, which could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes, forecasters warned.

The growing frequency and intensity of such storms, interspersed with extreme heat and dry spells, are symptoms of climate change, experts say.

While the US East has experienced a relatively mild winter, the Northern Plains has had an extreme winter in terms of snowfall and temperatures, NWS meteorologist Matthew Bunkers in South Dakota said.

Transportation officials in Minnesota, Nebraska and the Dakotas urged motorists to drive slowly or stay off the roads altogether over the next several days.

No significant power outages were being reported as at Tuesday, said PowerOutage.us.

More than 480 flights in and out of Denver, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City, Utah, were delayed or cancelled. In all, more than 1,300 flights were delayed or cancelled in the US as at Tuesday afternoon, Flightaware.com reported.

Although the snow storm could wreak havoc on daily life, it was welcomed by skiers.

“KaBoom!” the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming said in a tweet. “We’re in the grips of a powerful storm and delays due to strong winds and heavy snow are likely. Thanks for your patience as we prepare paradise for you.”

Down in Florida, locals were preparing for a different kind of recreation.

“We regularly hit 80 deg F (27 deg C) in February every year, but once we start going in that 85 to 90 range, that is much above normal,” said NWS meteorologist Jason Hess in Jacksonville. “It’s the early beach season for us down here.” REUTERS