Major Winter Storm Might Bring Blizzard, Heavy Snow, Howling Winds in Upper Midwest

A major winter storm, possibly a blizzard, is forecast for the Upper Midwest of the United States. It may also bring with it heavy snow and howling winds.

The storm will spread heavy snow and strong winds into the northern Plains and Upper Midwest starting late Monday or early Tuesday after dumping feet of snow across the western mountains this weekend. It may also linger over some areas of those regions into the next midweek.

Increasing Snowfall Rates and High Wind Gusts

The FOX Forecast Center predicts that the intensity of the snow will probably peak from Tuesday night into Wednesday, when snowfall rates may exceed an inch per hour.

The heaviest snowfall will be accompanied by wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph, which could lead to dangerous blizzard conditions with almost no visibility across parts of Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, western Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Minnesota.

Craig Herrera, a FOX Weather meteorologist, explained that if there is at least 35 mph wind blowing or falling snow and the visibility drops to at least a quarter-mile for three hours. That would be a blizzard, and it might occur.

The second half of next week should see a gradual weakening and winding down of the winter storm, though some lingering snow showers may linger into Thursday or Friday.

As the storm approaches, more information will become available about who gets the most snow, FOX Weather reports.

Blizzard, Howling Winds

Later this weekend and into the first week of next week, the storm system will spread large areas of heavy snow and howling winds over the Intermountain West before moving into the northern Plains.

The storm will cause several inches of snow to accumulate in Flagstaff, Arizona, and Salt Lake City, a major metro area. Travel will be challenging even outside of the region's main mountain passes due to blowing and drifting snow in addition to the significant accumulation.

In the Great Plains, the wintry side of the storm will be in full force from later Monday to Wednesday. The snow will spread from parts of Colorado into the Dakotas as well as northern Minnesota as the temperature drops.

Blizzard conditions will spread over thousands of square miles from parts of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana to close to the Canada border in North Dakota and Minnesota, even though the most severe snowstorm may persist to the north and west of Denver, AccuWeather reports.

Upper Midwest US: Warnings, Watches, Advisories

The United States Upper Midwest region is made up of the states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, as well as Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Here are the weather announcements for Upper Midwest US according to the National Weather Service:

Parts of North Dakota are under Winter Storm Watch until late Monday night.
Parts of Minnesota are under Winter Weather Advisory until 6 PM today, while their Winter Storm Watch will last until the 15th, Thursday of next week.
South Dakota is also under Winter Storm Watch until 5 AM on Thursday next week, December 15.
A brief Dense Fog Advisory is up for some parts of Iowa today.