Major Storm in the Offing

I'm surprised I am not seeing more winter storm watches and high wind watches this morning because it appears to me that both a blizzard and a related high wind event are in the offing.

The map below (10a Monday) shows current watches.

Green is a flash flood watch for much of Kansas, Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Blue is a winter storm watch.

Now, please allow me to fill in the rest of the picture, at least as I see it.

The brown (map above) is a high wind watch for winds, Wednesday, of more than 50 mph. It is far too small. Here is a computer model forecast for 4pm CST Wednesday.

In the deep pinks and reds, gusts could easily reach 50-60 mph. In the areas with orange and yellows, gusts may exceed 60 mph. This could cause power failures and, in the southern High Plains, blowing dust.

Farther north, I'm concerned about a blizzard. The map, below, is for 4pm Wednesday.

The dark blue, which extends from I-70 in Colorado to I-94, represents moderate to heavy falling snow.

Here is my interpretation of snowfall potentials for this storm.

If you add these heavy snows to gusts to 50 mph, you have the potential for severe blizzard conditions, closed roads, and people getting stuck by snow drifts and put into life-threatening conditions.

So, if you live or are traveling through these areas, please keep up on the latest weather information.