CNN
—
A big winter storm is bringing extreme climate Tuesday to the central US, with harmful blizzard conditions in the central and northern Plains, icy climate in the Upper Midwest and extreme storms with twister danger anticipated alongside the Gulf Coast.
The storm, which walloped the West over the weekend, is anticipated to strengthen because it pushes eastward Tuesday, then stall throughout the central Plains into Thursday, snarling journey amid blowing snow and freezing rain. About 15 million folks in a dozen states are below winter-weather warnings or advisories Tuesday morning, with energy outages a key concern.
Meanwhile, the southern finish of the storm is anticipated to carry late-season tornadoes together with sturdy thunderstorms. About 25 million people from Texas to Mississippi are below risk of extreme climate Tuesday, additionally together with damaging wind and massive hail.
Here’s what completely different areas can anticipate in the coming days:
• Blizzard conditions are anticipated Tuesday and Wednesday for elements of the central and northern Plains, with snow at instances anticipated to fall at charges of 1 to 2 inches per hour amid highly effective 40 mph winds.
• An “enhanced risk” for extreme storms Tuesday stretches from jap Texas to northern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi, with tornadoes, massive hail and damaging straight line winds doable.
• A twister watch is in effect Tuesday morning for elements of Texas and southern Oklahoma till 11 a.m. CT.
• The best flash flooding risk can be Tuesday into Wednesday from the decrease Mississippi Valley into the central Gulf Coast, Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians.
• Freezing rain and sleet can be doable by means of Wednesday in the Upper Midwest.
The storm, which first hit the Western US with much-needed snow and rain, resulted in winter storm alerts from the Canadian border to Mexico’s border with New Mexico.
In Denver, as much as 5 inches of snow are anticipated Tuesday, with 50 mph wind gusts doable.
Blizzard warnings prolonged Tuesday from elements of Montana and Wyoming into northeastern Colorado, western Nebraska and South Dakota, the place harsh, life-threatening conditions are anticipated.
Snowfall by means of Wednesday morning usually may very well be 10 to 18 inches in the central and northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Some areas inside the blizzard warning zones – significantly western South Dakota, jap Wyoming and northwestern Nebraska – may get as many as 24 inches of snow, with winds sturdy sufficient to knock down tree limbs and trigger energy outages, the Weather Prediction Center said.
“We’re not expecting a quick burst of snowfall here,” Brandon Wills, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Cheyenne, Wyoming, stated Monday night. Snow is “going to accumulate the highest in the northern Nebraska panhandle – and it’s going to be blowing around like crazy because of the strong winds that we’re going to have as well,” he stated.
Interstates in South Dakota may change into impassable amid the blizzard conditions, ensuing in roadway closures throughout the state, the South Dakota Department of Transportation warned Monday.
Ice storm warnings had been issued for elements of jap South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota and western Iowa. Up to two-tenths of an inch of ice may accumulate in a few of these areas, forecasters stated.
In Anchorage, Alaska, an “unprecedented amount of snowfall” has led to colleges being closed for 4 days and on Monday shut down the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University.
“The snowstorms that have hit Anchorage over the last week are historic in nature, bringing anywhere between 30-45 inches of snow to our city,” stated Hans Rodvik, a spokesperson for the Anchorage mayor’s workplace, stated Monday in a press release to CNN.
Meanwhile, the southern finish of the storm threatens to carry tornadoes.
A twister watch is in effect Tuesday morning for elements of Texas and southern Oklahoma till 11 a.m. CT. The primary threats are tornadoes, hail and wind gusts as much as 70 mph.
An alert for enhanced risk of severe weather – stage 3 of 5 – was issued Tuesday for jap Texas and the decrease Mississippi River Valley, with the primary threats together with highly effective tornadoes, damaging winds, and massive hail. Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Lafayette, Louisiana, are a part of the threatened space, as is Jackson, Mississippi.
A zone of slight danger – stage 2 of 5 – encircled that space, stretching from jap Texas and southern Oklahoma to southern Arkansas and a lot of the remainder of Louisiana and central Mississippi. That consists of Dallas and New Orleans.
Tuesday additionally brings a slight risk of excessive rainfall in elements of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, with 2 to 4 inches of rain and flash flooding doable, the Weather Prediction Center said.
On Wednesday, the risk for extreme climate is largely targeted on the Gulf Coast, with tornadoes and damaging winds doable over elements of southern Louisiana, Mississippi, southwest Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle, the Storm Prediction Center said.
publish credit score to Source link