Severe Blizzard Great Plains; Heavy Snow in the Midwest - 12:06am Monday Update

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The Latest National Weather Service Warnings -  Midnight


Color codes:
  • Orange is a blizzard warning. 
  • Pink is a winter storm warning. 
  • Gold/tan is a high wind warning. 
  • Deep green is a winter storm watch. 
  • Purple is a winter weather advisory (lesser condition).
  • Pale brown can be ignored.

I'm going to walk you through the Great Plains blizzard and then the heavy snow system (with some wind that will cause drifting) as it moves into the Midwest. 

7am Monday Forecast Radar
The low pressure in the western Oklahoma Panhandle will be the blizzard culprit. The snow from south central Nebraska to northeast New Mexico are associated with it. Winds will already be gusting to 45 mph in the central High Plains.

There will be a second area of mixed rain and snow over the eastern half of Kansas. Wichita will be on the border of the rain/snow. Purple is mixed rain and snow.

In Oklahoma, the yellow and red are thunderstorms.  



1pm Monday
A fierce blizzard will be in progress from the middle of Nebraska to southeast Colorado. Travel will be extremely dangerous and should not be attempted. The snow will be blowing into large drifts. 



8pm Monday
We shift map views as the snow and rain move into the Midwest.
The dark blue is heavy falling snow. Orange is sleet.  



8am Tuesday

Snow Accumulation to Noon Tuesday

Below is a close-up of forecast total snow amounts in the blizzard warning area.
I am virtually certain both I-80 in Nebraska and I-70 in Kansas will be closed tomorrow into Tuesday. The same is true for US 5, 36, 54 and 400.

The Map Below is Peak Gusts the Next 48 Hours
Please note there are several areas with gusts just above 70 mph!

Winter weather safety/homeowners suggestions are here.
Outside of the blizzard area, if you are going to travel by car, please consider this checklist.


Note: it is entirely possible another major winter storm will occur the end of the week. Behind that storm, the coldest air in years will invade the nation. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2024 at 5:25 PM

    The NWS winter storm watches are in dark blue, not dark green.

    ReplyDelete

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