Changes made with this update:
Made minor adjustments to placement of blizzard and heavy snow bands on the above impact map. Also reduced the size of the expected wintry mix area in Michigan. Other mostly minor changes to city-specific details below.
Summary:
A major winter storm is underway in the northern Plains and will spread further into the Midwest and Great Lakes region through tonight and early Wednesday.
Below is a summary of expected impacts within or near the following larger metropolitan areas:
-Twin Cities 4-6 inches of snow on average today; even higher accumulation to the immediate Southeast-South
-Chicago a light wintry mix changing to light snow on Wednesday a.m.; no significant accumulation is expected
-Detroit rain possibly changing to a light wintry mix on Wednesday; higher impacts to immediate NW-N of city
-Kansas City most impacts will be felt North of the city due to a wintry mix changing to snow today
-Omaha blizzard conditions likely today with snow accumulation of 8-12 inches expected
-Des Moines blizzard conditions to the immediate North today; local snow accumulation of 3-6 inches is expected
Expected Regional Impacts:
-Heavy snowfall, especially within the “heavy snow” and “blizzard conditions” areas on the above image
-Blowing and drifting snow, especially within the “heavy snow” and “blizzard conditions” areas on the above image
-Blizzard conditions in the indicated area on the above image
-Scattered to regional power outages especially within the “wintry mix” area noted on the above image
-Scattered downing of trees, tree limbs and power lines (especially in “blizzard conditions” area)
-Scattered structural damage in the form of roof collapse, mainly in “heavy snow” and “blizzard” areas
-Scattered damage to shingled roofs, mainly in “heavy snow” and “blizzard” areas where winds will be highest
Total Snowfall Forecast:
Areas to Watch:
Omaha/Lincoln NE into west-central Iowa: A blizzard is underway in southcentral and southeast Nebraska at this time, including the Lincoln and Omaha areas. I-80 has been closed due to blizzard conditions from mile marker 257-369. Based on radar and satellite trends of the storm track, we have adjusted the axis of heaviest snow and blizzard conditions just to the North and Northwest of Des Moines, with east-central and southeast Nebraska through west-central and northwest Iowa likely to experience the brunt of heavy snow and blizzard conditions today.
Twin Cities Area: At this time we are maintaining our storm total snow forecast of 4-6 inches for the metro area, with highest in the South and lowest in the North. Much heavier snow in excess of 6 inches will occur immediately to the South and East of the metro, and closer to the Iowa and Wisconsin borders where blizzard conditions can be expected later today into this evening and early tonight.
Chicago Area: A light wintry mix will develop on Wednesday morning and then change to occasional light snow. No significant accumulations are expected at this time, and are likely to remain closer to the Wisconsin border.
Detroit Area: Rain will likely change to a light wintry mix on Wednesday, but at this time any significant accumulation continues to appear to remain to the North of the immediate metro area.
Other Concerns from the Same Storm System:
This same storm system will produce a potentially significant round of severe weather in portions of the Deep South and lower Mississippi Valley region later today and into tonight. Please refer to the separate alert bulletin concerning severe thunderstorm activity for additional details on that specific threat.
