‘Impossible travel conditions’ as spring storm produces historic snow and severe storms

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This storm system begins with its first threat to the Rockies, as intense bands of snow dump feet of powder across Colorado and Wyoming.

Dangerous travel conditions will exist on portions of Highways 25, 70 and 80 – drivers are therefore urged to use extreme caution.

“Very difficult to impossible travel conditions are expected throughout southeastern Wyoming and begging Nebraska,” the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Cheyenne, Wyoming said Thursday. “Expect extended periods of whiteout conditions, low visibility and possible power outages.”

This slow system has the potential to produce the heaviest snowfall in decades for the eastern Rockies and western plains throughout the weekend.

But that’s only one aspect of the system. The southern and eastern sides of the system – which will suck warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico – will fuel several days of severe storms, with the possibility of tornadoes.

Nearly 20 million people will be at risk of severe storms at any given time from Friday to Sunday in half a dozen states with destructive winds, hail and tornadoes.

On top of all this, the cold front will eventually stall in the southern plains, bringing heavy rains over much of the same area over the next few days, leading to flooding.

Here’s what to expect and when.

Friday

Friday morning, the snow begins to rise. Throughout the day, snow bands will become more frequent across Colorado and Wyoming and travel conditions will continue to deteriorate.

While there are still uncertainties involved, the general message from the NWS office in Boulder, Colo. Is 1 to 3 feet of snow for much of their forecast area.

Colorado is not the only state to expect heavy snowfall. Eastern Wyoming, Western Nebraska, and even parts of Southern South Dakota will likely see more than a foot of snow throughout the weekend.

A serious threat is also expected to develop in parts of western Texas and western Oklahoma on Friday.

“A cluster of strong to severe storms with integrated supercells is expected to move northeast from around Lubbock to southeast Texas Panhandle by early to mid-evening,” the Storm Prediction Center said. “In addition to large hail, wind damage will also be a possibility with the stronger cells in this group.

Here's why the United States has more tornadoes than any other country

The severe, snow-capped flanks of this system will intensify further over the weekend.

Saturday

By Saturday, it will snow heavily along the Front Range of the Rockies and move across the western plains.

This region is no stranger to the March snowfall. In fact, March is actually the snowiest month of the year for parts of Colorado and Wyoming. In Denver, each of their major March 10 snowstorms totals more than a foot of snowfall. This year could be added to this list, as historical totals are not out of the question.

“The current forecast snow totals are absolutely historic,” the NWS office in Cheyenne said.

Travel will also be very difficult on Saturday. Whiteout conditions will result in very low visibility and poor driving conditions. People are asked to stay home if they can.

“Snowfall rates of nearly 3 inches per hour in the foothills in the forecast on Saturday night, meaning the trip would be impossible,” the NWS told Boulder. “Boulder and Fort Collins could see snowfall rates of around 2 inches per hour during this time.”

The threat of severe storms is also starting to increase today. The areas most at risk of severe weather on Saturday will be Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Abilene, Texas and Wichita, Kansas.

Know the difference between a tornado watch, a tornado warning, and a tornado emergency

The threats themselves remain the same as those on Friday – destructive winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes. The difference is in the location and intensity of the storms. The system – slowly – is moving east.

The best serious odds schedule appears to be in the afternoon and early evening. While some of the severe storm threat will diminish overnight, it will not diminish entirely. Power outages are possible.

There is still some uncertainty as to whether all of the necessary ingredients will be present for severe weather conditions, especially in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas on Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday

On Sunday, the storm system becomes essentially stationary over extreme southeastern Colorado and western Kansas. This will weaken the impact of the system on snowfall rates which should start to decrease significantly throughout the day. However, drivers are always advised to exercise caution, as the roads should always be very dangerous.

While the snow may start to slow down, the severe threat certainly doesn’t – it just changes locations.

On Sunday, severe storms push east into Arkansas, Missouri and Louisiana.

One thing that could limit a serious potential would be cloud cover. However, any sun cut would increase instability.

See if your area could experience extreme weather conditions.

The other growing concern for Sunday will be the threat of flooding, especially in parts of Missouri, Kansas and Illinois – where flood watches already exist.

Other states – such as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Indiana – also have potential for flooding, especially if storms start to build up in the same places.

Widespread precipitation totals through Sunday are expected to be in the range of 2-4 inches, but some isolated spots could exceed 6 inches in total.

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