SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Meteorologists expect a potent storm to track across the center of the country later this week, bringing a return to wintry conditions — just as the start of spring arrives.
The far-reaching storm system has already been responsible for much-needed snowfall across the Sierra Nevada and will next travel through the Intermountain West on Wednesday.
All the while, the Plains and Midwest will ride a temperature rollercoaster.
Prior to the arrival of the storm, it will feel a lot like spring as many cities will experience above-average temperatures as warm and humid air is drawn northward from the Gulf of Mexico.
Temperatures in places like Denver will soar into the middle 60s F on Wednesday ahead of the storm.
The storm will help to draw warm and humid air northward, while it draws cold air southwest. It may produce severe weather from the southern Plains into the Ohio Valley later in the week. At the same time, the storm will unleash wintry weather from Colorado to the Upper Midwest.
After mild conditions just a day before, temperatures across the Front Range, in central Colorado and southeastern Wyoming, will return to the 30s and 40s by Thursday, allowing for precipitation to fall in the form of snow. The vernal equinox arrives late in the day on Thursday across the U.S.
The developing storm will stretch the threat for snow across portions of the central and northern Plains and Upper Midwest.
Blizzard warnings were issued Tuesday morning for portions of western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming.
“At this time, it appears the best chance for heavy snow will be across parts of Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska as the storm emerges from the Rockies,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Courtney Travis.
A general 3-6 inches of snow is forecast to fall over parts of the central Rockies, central and northern Plains and the upper Great Lakes region.
From 6-12 inches of snow is forecast in parts of Colorado, Wyoming and western Nebraska, as well as a portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 20 inches is most likely from southeastern Wyoming to northeastern Colorado and the Nebraska Panhandle.
In addition to the snow, portions of eastern Wyoming, western Nebraska, northeastern Colorado and South Dakota will likely experience crashing temperatures and a stiff, northerly wind. The storm may become intense enough to create strong winds and blizzard conditions.
A quick-moving storm in southern Canada late this week could interact with this parent storm moving across the Plains, possibly changing the impacts and location of the heaviest snow.
Exactly how these two storms interact will determine how much snow could fall across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes.
AccuWeather meteorologists believe it is more likely the two storms remain separate. Only if the storms phase together might more snow and wind spread closer to the Canadian border, with blizzard conditions possible much farther to the east in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin late Thursday into Thursday night.
The forecast will need to be monitored closely in the Twin Cities, Fargo, North Dakota, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. In these areas, the forecast could change from a light snow event to an intense storm should the track adjust.
The forecast into Friday in the Plains and Upper Midwest will once again be dependent on the interaction of the two systems, although drier weather is expected in the Plains, with improving conditions throughout the day around the Great Lakes.
The bulk of the snow and wind looks to be centered over southern Canada and Michigan before the storm traverses into northern New England.
(Brandon Buckingham, Accuweather.com, contributed this report.)
