By Brendan O’Brien
(Reuters) – A massive winter storm sweeping across the U.S. West into the Northern Plains and Midwest on Tuesday could produce blizzard-like conditions and brutally cold temperatures, making road travel difficult and possibly causing power outages.
A broad swath of the western and north-central United States was facing winter storm, blizzard and high wind advisories. Up to two feet (60.96 cm) of snow and winds of up to 60 miles (97 km) per hour were expected in some spots from Tuesday through Thursday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
Snow falling at a rate of two inches per hour and gusty winds will lead to treacherous, potentially impossible travel conditions and possible power outages, the service said in its forecast.
Officials in Minneapolis told residents to prepare for blizzard-like conditions on Wednesday and Thursday, telling them to move their vehicles off the streets ahead of the slow-moving storm.
The city of 425,000 people could see as much as 20 inches of snow, potentially the most for a February snowstorm and one of the top five heaviest snowfalls of all time in the Midwestern city known for rough winter weather, according to data collected by the state’s Department of Natural Resources.
Weather conditions were quickly deteriorating in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota on Tuesday. Snow bands and strong gusty winds were causing whiteout conditions in Great Falls, Montana, where the temperature was -5 Fahrenheit (-15 Celsius), the NWS reported.
Experts say the growing frequency and intensity of such storms, interspersed with extreme heat and dry spells, are symptoms of climate change. While the U.S. East has experienced a relatively mild winter season, the Northern Plains has had an extreme winter season in terms of snow fall and temperatures so far, NWS meteorologist Matthew Bunkers in South Dakota said.
Transportation officials in Minnesota, Nebraska and the Dakotas urged motorists to drive slowly or stay off the roads altogether over the next couple of days.
“Snowplow crews will be out working statewide, but this storm could be a doozy,” the Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a tweet.
No significant power outages were being reported as of Tuesday morning, according to data from PowerOutage.us.
The storm will also cause wind chill temperatures to drop to -25 Fahrenheit, which could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes, forecasters warned.
As the storm moves east, it was expected to dump as much as six inches of snow and produce ice accumulations in many parts of Michigan and New England later this week.
Although the snow storm could wreak havoc on daily life, it was welcomed by skiers across the West and Northern Plains.
“KaBoom!,” the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming said in a tweet. “We’re in the grips of a powerful storm and delays due to strong winds and heavy snow are likely. Thanks for your patience as we prepare paradise for you.”
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Mark Porter)
