Three-day National Weather Service Snowfall and Storms in the Twin Cities: Two Storms, Three More Tornadoes and Three More Inequalities
The “historic” three-day storm “will bring widespread accumulating snow, with blowing and drifting snow mainly Wednesday through Thursday,” the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities said.
A winter storm dumped a lot of precipitation across southern California this weekend, including more than 6 feet of snow in Mountain High and more than 5 inches of rain in Cucamonga Canyon.
The Storm Prediction Center forecasts a risk of tornadoes, large hail and damaging straight line winds from eastern Texas into northern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi.
Elsewhere, the same storm system hitting the Northeast delivered tornadoes earlier this week to several southern states. There were more than 40 tornadoes reported across 10 states since Tuesday.
The first round of snow Tuesday could bring up to 7 inches of snowfall in Minneapolis. The second snowfall round is expected to begin Wednesday afternoon and last through Thursday, when another 10 to 20 inches could fall. The three-day total could be between 18 and 25 inches.
The system is expected to bring more than a foot of snow to the Sierras. A second system will be right on the first’s heels, pushing inland across the Pacific Northwest tonight bringing even more snow.
The storm made for icy and dangerous conditions on key roads, leading to the closing of a long stretch of I80 from Northern California to Stateline, Nevada, on Saturday.
“The snowpack is about 225% of normal, so it’s more than twice what we’d be expecting this time in December,” said Mark Deutschendorf, forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Reno.
It looks like Christmas out here. It stuck to everything because it didn’t come with a lot of wind. It’s like a picture postcard.”
While he noted the snow totals so far are impressive, Deutschendorf said he is “cautiously optimistic” about this precipitation putting a big dent in the state’s drought.
The Olympic Valley Ski Resort Getting 6 feet of Snow During the First Day of the Walloping of the West Sunday Through Thursday and Sunday
The ski resort posted pictures on their website on Sunday, of thick snow covering the ski resort in Olympic Valley.
This is a storm that will live in the memory. Since December 1st, we have gotten 7.5 feet of snow. Plus, in just 24 hours from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, we received more than 35 inches of snow — the 6th largest snowfall total in 24 hours that we have on record,” resort operators wrote.
The coast-to-coast storm – which walloped the West over the weekend – is expected to strengthen as it pushes eastward Tuesday, and stall across the central Plains into Thursday, snarling travel amid blowing snow and freezing rain.
During the second round on Wednesday and Thursday, there will be big problems. This is the place where we could see up to 2 feet of snow and 50 mph wind gusts. Travel will be difficult in this time frame.
Wills said in an update Monday evening that there was not expecting a quick burst of snow. He said that the snow would be blowing around in a way that was crazy because of the strong winds.
The National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota, said travel through the area will be nearly impossible Tuesday and Wednesday, and possibly into Thursday.
There is an ice storm warning in effect for central Iowa to the Wisconsin-Illinois line, through southern Michigan, and as far east as the Illinois line.
In Anchorage, Alaska, an “unprecedented amount of snowfall” has led to schools being closed for four days and shut down the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University on Monday.
Snowstorms and Tornadoes in Upstate New Jersey, Maryland, and Farmerville, Louisiana, Scattered by a Category of Flash Floods on Tuesday
The Weather Prediction Center says there is a risk of flash flooding from far east Texas into the lower Mississippi Valley on Tuesday. Up to 4 inches of rain could fall.
These areas need the moisture and have seen great relief to drought conditions in the past week. Tennessee, for example, went from 96% of the state under drought to being at 46% this week.
As a result of the Nor’Easter that dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of New England, more is on the way Saturday as officials warn of hazardous travel conditions the weekend before Christmas.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned people to be careful on the road as millions across the Northeast are under winter weather advisories.
Everyone in the affected regions is urged to avoid unnecessary travel tonight and tomorrow. Make sure to stay off the roads if you can, as well as work from home if possible.
State transportation officials implored drivers to avoid travel due to the low visibility caused by wind and heavy snow.
There will be anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snow forecast from central Pennsylvania northward to the interior of Upstate New York through Saturday.
The brutal winter conditions buried communities in snow, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes, shuttered highways, snarled holiday travel, forced hundreds of rescues and prompted emergency declarations.
In the mountains of West Virginia and Maryland, a quarter of an inch of ice was reported, while a tenth had built up in parts of Virginia.
Farther west, strong winds from the powerful storm tore down power lines, knocking out power to more than 140,000 homes and businesses in California, where the reported outages occurred in the northern counties of the state including San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, according to the tracking site Poweroutage.us.
Meanwhile in Louisiana, Yoshiko A. Smith, 30, and her 8-year-old son, Nikolus Little, were killed Tuesday when a tornado struck Caddo Parish and destroyed their home, local officials said.
Another tornado in northern Louisiana traveled through the town of Farmerville was rated an EF-3, with 140 mph winds, according to the National Weather Service. At least 20 people were injured and parts of an apartment complex and a mobile home park were destroyed by a tornado.
New York Weather Forecasts During the Associated Press Snow Storms and its Effect on Traffic, Infrastructure, and Recreation in the Great Lakes Region
Winter storm warnings remain in effect in New York for Buffalo, Jamestown, and Watertown and will expire within the next couple of days. Forecasts show Jamestown could see another 8 inches of snow, Buffalo could see another 14 inches and Watertown could see another 3 feet. In addition, the winds can also reach up to 40 mph.
Efforts to bring extra utility workers into New England to fix the power grid were stopped by slick roads, as an outage left 180,000 without power over the weekend, according to the Associated Press.
State police in Vermont said officers responded to a multitude of car crashes Friday and advised drivers to slow down. The roads were closed because of the storm.
A snowstorm is falling at a rate of 1-2 inches per hour near the Great Lakes. Significant impacts will include major disruptions to travel, infrastructure, livestock and recreation as a result of that.
The weather service said that there were snow showers going on across the region and only a few will last through Saturday.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the weekly weather newsletter, the CNN Weather Brief, which is released every Monday. You can receive them on a weekly basis and during storms.
Forecasts for North Dakota, New York, Minnesota and Nebraska for the Coldest and Warmest Christmas Eves in the Last Three Decades
“With the kind of severe cold weather that is headed our way, frostbite can develop on exposed skin in under 30 minutes. Spending long periods of time outdoors in these weather conditions is harmful and can be fatal.
Wind chill warnings are in effect for many parts of Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota and Nebraska where the wind chills could drop as low as 60 degrees below zero.
Washington DC is forecast to see its second coldest Christmas Eve, only behind 1989. In New York, it will be the coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. Chicago is expecting temperatures to rebound above zero, but will still experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.
When there is falling or blowing snow with winds of at least 35 mph you can have a quarter of a mile visibility reduction for at least three hours.
The winds could go as high as 50 mph on Friday, and that will cause a problem for the city. The storm will only get worse as the wind will plummet to at least 20 degrees below zero.
There’s snow and ice covering the entire of the northern hemisphere. The prediction center said that the source freezer is in the Arctic polar regions. There is a lot of snow covered ground in the north-central United States, and that cold air can hold on to those characteristics.
The First Big Storm to Hit the Upper 48 Hours of the Year. The Plan to Travel Around the U.S. with Big Bangs and a Blast
Travel is very dangerous and may be LIFE-THREATENING later this week so be prepared to alter travel plans now. The weather service said something that’s true.
As it treks east across the country, the storm is expected to become a “bomb cyclone,” a rapidly strengthening storm which drops 24 millibars of pressure within 24 hours. The forecast was for the pressure to match the pressure of a Category 2 storm as it moved into the Great Lakes.
It can be a problem in areas that are seeing snow because of the deep rain on I-95. You can see some melting water.
The major storm is raising the chances of a white Christmas for millions of people. The areas were already given because the snow was already on the ground.
The DC area will probably get at least one inch of snow on Christmas Day. With that pattern coming together, I would be willing to double that chance to 30% and it could increase quite a bit in the next couple of days.
In Washington, the highest mountain in the state is expected to get the most snow on Tuesday, with lowlands in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming getting a foot of snow. There is a chance of another blast of ice and snow on Thursday.
Two deaths caused by snow in New York, and one death in Kansas City, according to a joint study by Flight Aware, a tracking site
As of Tuesday morning, air travel appeared largely undisturbed by the approaching polar front, with more than 575 delays and 285 cancellations at airports across the U.S., according to the tracking site Flight Aware.
Those venturing outside should dress in layers, cover their skin and change into dry clothing as soon as possible. Staying indoors is the best prevention, experts say.
Hundreds of miles of road closed and flights canceled were causing havoc for all modes of travel. In New York, flooding along the Long Island Rail Road forced part of the Long Beach branch to temporarily shut down.
Mick stood in the snow in Buffalo, New York, for two hours and said Christmas is canceled. “All family and friends agreed it’s safer this way.”
In north-central Kansas, three people were killed in separate car crashes on Wednesday evening; one death was confirmed to be weather-related, and two were believed to be weather-related but need more investigation, according to Kansas Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Candice Breshears.
The Kansas City Police Department said one person died when their Dodge Caravan skidded on the ice in Kansas City. The Dodge was submerged in the creek after going down the embankment over the retaining wall.
The First Day of Winter Break: Brian Trzeciak’s Family in Los Angeles, Fla., during the High School Winter Storm on Friday
More than 200 million people were under a wind chill alert in the US, from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, and from Washington state to Florida, with the mercury expected to plunge into the single digits on Friday. Other winter weather alerts are in effect for blizzard conditions, ice, snow as well as flooding.
The National Weather Service said that the warning graphic depicted one of the largest areas of winter weather warnings and advisories ever.
At the press conference on Friday, Hochul said that it was a kitchen sink storm because it threw everything at them. “We’ve had ice, flooding, snow, freezing temperatures, and everything that mother nature could wallop at us this weekend.”
For Brian Trzeciak, the storm was “living up to the warnings” at his home in Hamburg, New York. Zero visibility was reported at Buffalo’s airport after noon on Friday.
He said that both his mother and his sister’s family lived in the other direction. “We always get together for Christmas Eve and Christmas, but we’re all hunkering down in our houses until it all stops on Monday.”
The governor ordered the state guard, transportation department and state patrol to be prepared to respond to storms.
The First Day of Winter Snowfall in the United States Airs: Flights and Transport in Seattle, Washington, and Oregon have been Caught in the act
More than 670 flights in and out of the us have been canceled by Thursday, according to FlightAware. That’s following more than 1,600 flight cancellations Wednesday.
Some areas will see both extremes. After warming up to nearly 80 degrees on Thursday, the Washington, D.C., region will fall below freezing late Friday, with snow and rain likely on Saturday, the NWS says. Strong winds will be seen in many places.
Nearly half of the flights in and out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were canceled as a result of the ice closing the runways. Further, all express services for Sound Transit, a regional transportation network in the Seattle metro area, were suspended Friday due to the icy conditions.
A winter storm warning is also in effect for northeastern Oregon, including Portland, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. PST. Total snow and sleet accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of .2 to .4 inches is likely as well as winds gusting to 55 mph. Wind chills as low as zero are possible, and frostbite is possible on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
As a massive winter storm continues to blast much of the US with brutal winter weather – leading to at least 37 deaths nationwide – parts of western New York have been buried by up to 43 inches of snow, leaving vehicles stuck and power out for thousands during the Christmas weekend.
As rescue crews and hundreds of plow drivers fanned out on Christmas Day, even emergency and recovery vehicles sent out to help have gotten stuck in the snow. There were eleven ambulances that had to be abandoned.
Local authorities have reported storm-related deaths from a host of causes. A man died of carbon monoxide poisoning after snow interfered with his furnace. A worker was killed in Ohio. A woman falls through ice. A person died from a falling branch. At least six people have been killed in car crashes in the states of Missouri, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
The State Highway Patrol Reports in Erie County, Fla, During a Superfluid Outing of Snow and a Snowflake
There are hundreds of National Guard troops in New York. State police had been involved in over 500 rescues by Sunday, including delivering a baby and helping a man with 4% left on his mechanical heart, the governor said.
The driving ban in western New York is still in effect, Hochul said, urging residents to stay away from the roads.
“Our state and county plows have been out there, nonstop, giving up time and putting themselves in danger, driving through blinding snowstorms to clear the roads,” Hochul said.
As blistering blizzard conditions swept the region, about 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles Friday night into Saturday morning, according to Poloncarz, who described frightening conditions on the road.
“Think about looking just a few feet in front of you at a sheet of white for more than 24 hours in a row. That’s what it was like outside in the worst conditions,” he said. “It was continual blizzard and white outs such that no one could see where they were going. Nobody had any idea what was happening.”
While cars are abandoned on the snowy streets of Buffalo, conditions inside homes are hard due to the lack of heat.
Some residents have remained in their homes for the last 56 hours, some without power in the freezing cold, Hochul said during the press conference. This is not due to a lack of resources, the governor said, but rather a mobility and access challenge faced by utility companies.
Still, there were 12,000 homes and businesses in Erie County without power Sunday evening, and many won’t have lights and heating back until Tuesday, Poloncarz said.
Buffalo, Fla. – The First of Many Generations of Snowfall and Cold Weather in the Last Three Days of the Millenium War
Buffalo will continue to see snowfall and frigid cold temperatures Monday, with a high of 23 degrees expected in the daytime and a low of 18 at night, according to the National Weather Service.
• Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer of a building possibly looking for warmth, and another in a camp in an alleyway.
Conditions will be hazardous for travel over the next couple of days, and are expected to get better over the next week.
The low-pressure system is moving to Canada, while another system is moving quickly to the north, with snow possible in the northern Plains on Monday.
Much of the rest of the eastern part of the country will still be in a deep freeze through Monday before a moderating trend sets in on Tuesday, forecasters said.
The Mayor of Buffalo told Morning Edition that the emergency responders in the city went “car by car” to rescue stranded motorists.
“This has been called a generational storm — a once-in-a-generation storm,” Brown said. “It’s unlike anything that even the city of Buffalo is used to getting.”
“That number is now below 10,000, and we will continue to work aggressively and strategically with National Grid all day today to continue to reduce that number and get everyone’s power restored,” he added, referring to the local utility.
The worst of the rolling power cuts appeared to have subsided by the end of the week, as communities from coast to coast lost power. PJM interconnection said that utilities were able to meet the day’s demand after initially asking 65 million customers to conserve energy.
New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management warns against driving with sleet and freezing rain during the week of December 25, 1992, with a record snowfall total of 11 inches
Don’t go for outdoor activities on Friday and Saturday! New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management said in a post on social media that the wind chill factor and cold temperatures could cause potentially life-threatening conditions outdoors.
When venturing outside, the NWS cautions against venturing with high wind speeds and low temperatures, which can cause frostbite in just a few minutes.
The storm had the potential to bring snowstorms along with winter weather advisories. New York state in particular saw heavy snowfall that stranded even emergency vehicles and caused widespread outages.
The village of Copenhagen is in New York’s Lewis County. Driving conditions were so difficult that even snowplows had a tough time navigating the roads, CNN affiliate WWNY reported.
The Michigan area set a daily maximum snowfall record with 10.9 inches of snow on Sunday. The old record of 8 inches was received on December 25, 1992.
A blast of cold air is expected to hit the Northeast on Thursday, just as hundreds of thousands of people in Texas remain without power.
Texas has been bearing the brunt of a dangerous ice storm that dumped several rounds of sleet and freezing rain, causing life-threatening road conditions in surrounding states including Oklahoma, Arkansas and the Memphis area in Tennessee.
In central and northern Texas, southern Oklahoma and Arkansas, there could be an additional quarter inch of ice on top of already slippery roads.
The risk for significant tree damage and power outage will be raised for many areas by this storm’s total ice accretions of over 0.5” for many locations. Sleet may also mix in at times with the freezing rain which will increase the chances for icing on the roadways,” the National Weather Service said.
The northern portion of New England will see temperatures drop to 15 to 25 degrees below zero heading into the weekend. Plus, the frigid temperatures will be joined by winds of 25 to 40 mph, making air in areas as far south as New York City feel -10 degrees Fahrenheit.
A winter storm has begun to show signs of life along the west coast as snow and rain is already falling across the Pacific Northwest.
There are storm warnings in place for southern Wyoming, where there will be two feet of snow and winds that will create blinding conditions. The wind chill is 25 degrees below zero according to the weather service.
Simultaneously, parts of the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley are seeing record-setting warmth: The NWS says temperatures on Thursday are forecasted to be as much as 40 degrees above normal.
Whether you are buried under three feet of snow and experiencing frigid temperatures or basking in the sunshine and record warmth, this week will touch nearly all corners of the country with wild weather.
The overall weather pattern that the NWS Climate Prediction Center and others describe as “anomaly” is for the unusual cold and warmth that people will experience.
People in the east can be forgiven if they wonder if winter is over as they watch early blooms. The central and eastern U.S. were expected to be warmer than normal on Monday.
“Highs Tuesday will be similarly above average for most locations, including 70s expanding northward into the Mid-Atlantic,” the NWS said, “with only the northern tier cooling off as the clipper system passes through.”
The National Weather Service says that there is a chance of rain and damaging winds in parts of Oklahoma and western Arkansas Wednesday morning and afternoon.
High-Temperature Snowfall and High-Speed Pedestrian Flows: I-90, 29 and 59 mph Conditions in the Upper Midwest
The high temperature will rise well into the 70s and 80s, before peaking on Thursday, as cities in the Florida peninsula could reach into the 90s. These temperatures are normally in the 30 to 40 degree range and can be found in May or early June.
The National Weather Service said the Upper Midwest could see snow at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour, with wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph. That unrelenting double whammy is set to create whiteout conditions due to falling and blowing snow.
The offices of the executive branches of the state government will be closed on Wednesday and employees will be allowed to work from home. I-90 and 29 were partially closed Tuesday night to prepare for the snow.
Eastern Wyoming College announced the closure of its main campus. The Natrona County school district in Casper will conduct a virtual learning day Wednesday due to hazardous weather and road conditions throughout the area, the district said.
Search and rescue operations were underway Wednesday evening in several counties across Wyoming to recover motorists that become trapped in heavy snow, the state highway patrol said.
In Minnesota, swaths of which saw 3-7 inches with locally higher amounts as of early Thursday, more than 160 vehicle crashes were reported and dozens of cars spun off roads Wednesday, Minnesota State Patrol spokesperson Lt. Gordon Shank said in a series of tweets.
State Gov. Tony Evers declared a statewide energy emergency and canceled flights in Los Padres, California, during the February 28-24 storm
In Wisconsin – similarly hit by snow since Tuesday in the north and freezing rain Wednesday in the south – Gov. Tony Evers declared a statewide energy emergency Wednesday, saying it will “allow for a more swift and efficient restoration of any electric power outages throughout the state,” a news release from his office said.
The wintry weather was created by an unusual blizzard warning for parts of southern California and the Los Angeles region.
The dueling winter storm and southern heat wave created a stark 100-degree temperature difference between the Northern Rockies and the South earlier this week.
Most of the flights from the international airport in Green Bay were canceled Thursday morning.
• Maine government offices closed: Gov. Janet Mills announced that state offices would be closed Thursday as the storm “is expected to bring significant snowfall to most of the state,” her office said in a release.
Atlanta was 81 degrees on Wednesday, an all-time record in February. Washington, D.C., reached 79 degrees, New Orleans reached 83 degrees and Nashville, Tenn., was 80 degrees on Wednesday.
Heavy rain throughout the area, including more than four inches in Holy Jim Canyon, Lower Silverado Canyon and Henshaw Dam, as well as three additional inches in Costa Mesa, Mount Woodson and Carlsbad Airport.
The storm made for dangerous travel conditions in some areas. In Los Padres National Forest, State Route 33 was closed due to rock slides and erosion from this and previous storms, according to video from the California Department of Transportation.
The Winter Parking Rules have Been Removed in the City of Washington, D.C., for Less Than Average Weather, and it’s Implications for the Northeast
The city said winter parking rules were removed due to warmer-than-average weather in February.
The East is currently in a snow shortage with some locations down by as much as three feet according to the Weather Prediction Center Branch Chief.
The period between snow events is also likely to increase as the climate warms, and it may be especially true for coastal Northeastern cities. The US National Climate Assessment says the rain-snow line moves farther north as the northeast temperatures warm and leads to more rainy days along the coast.
And it isn’t limited to the Northeast. Climate Central estimated that meteorological winter is the fastest-warming season for 75% of US locations.