SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — A storm system that’s currently bringing rain to southern California will move into the upper Midwest by this weekend, and forecasters say the combination of snow and wind it will bring with it could create blizzard conditions by Sunday.
Jim Scarlett, a forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Aberdeen, says there may be a lull in the weather Saturday afternoon, but conditions will deteriorate again by Saturday night.
Scarlett says by Sunday, it could be a full-fledged blizzard in eastern South Dakota.
Things are somewhat clearer in the Black Hills.
Uncertainty continues with the exact track of the storm, but confidence is increasing that the Black Hills will escape the brunt of the storm, with the heaviest amounts to the east.
Alzina Foscato, with the National Weather Service in Rapid City, says right now, central and eastern South Dakota appear to be in the midst of some heavy snow and gusty wind…
Foscato says four-inches and greater amounts are currently forecasted eastward from a line extending from the southwest corner of the state up to Faith area. She says some guidance gives the Black Hills notable snow, but other guidance keeps the best chance of snow well east of the Black Hills. Still, with a lot of wind forecasted Friday night and Saturday, any light snow the Black Hills’ area sees will blow around…
Forecasters hope to have a better idea as to who gets the most snow out of this system. Travelers should pay attention to weather forecasts if they have travel plans this weekend – especially to the east of the Black Hills.
And here’s how Accuweather sees the weekend situation:
- As the storm system begins to turn northeastward by Friday afternoon, a wintry mixture of ice, sleet and snow will develop across portions of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska. Farther southeast, drought-busting rain will fall across the southern Plains and mid-Mississippi Valley.
- As colder air filters southward from Canada, snow will begin to spread across the Plains Friday night. Portions of Interstates 76, 80 and 90 in Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota will likely experience accumulating snowfall overnight Friday.
- The storm system will continue to intensify as it expands northward into the Midwest by Saturday. A steady snow and increasingly gusty winds will be felt for places like North Platte, Nebraska, and Aberdeen, South Dakota.
- Blizzard conditions could be in store for portions of Nebraska thanks to a cold northerly wind that may strengthen the system. The eastern Dakotas and extreme western Minnesota would also be impacted.
Stay tuned to KELO Radio for the latest on this possible winter storm.
(Gary Matthews, KBHB, Mike Tanner, KWAT, and Accuweather.com contributed to this report.)
