This storm system begins with its first threat over the Rocky Mountains, as heavy streaks of snow will dust off Colorado and Wyoming.
Dangerous travel conditions will exist in parts of interstates 25, 70 and 80 – so drivers should be very careful.
This slow system has the potential to produce the largest snowfall in decades for the eastern Rocky Mountains and western plains over the weekend.
But this is only one side of the system. The southern and eastern sides of the system – which will draw warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico – will be fueling several days of severe storms, with the possibility of tornadoes.
Almost 20 million people will be threatened by severe storms sometime from Friday to Sunday in half a dozen states with strong winds, hail and tornadoes.
In addition to all this, the cold front will end up stopping on the southern plains, resulting in heavy rains over much of the same region in the coming days, which will lead to flooding.
Here’s what to expect and when.
Friday
Friday morning the snow starts to increase. Over the course of the day, snow streaks will become more frequent across Colorado and Wyoming and travel conditions will continue to worsen.
While there are still some uncertainties at stake, the general message from the NWS office in Boulder, Colorado, is 1-3 feet of snow for much of its forecasting area.
Colorado is not the only state that expects heavy snow accumulations. Eastern Wyoming, western Nebraska and even parts of southern South Dakota are likely to see more than a foot of snow during the weekend.
A serious threat is also expected to develop on Friday in parts of western Texas and western Oklahoma.
Both the severe and snowy sides of this system will intensify even more over the weekend.
Saturday
On Saturday, it will be snowing heavily along the Rocky Front Range and advancing to the western plains.
This area is no stranger to the March blizzards. In fact, March is the snowiest month of the year in parts of Colorado and Wyoming. In Denver, each of the major snowstorms on March 10 totals more than a foot of snow. This year could be added to that list, as historical totals are not out of the question.
Traveling will also be very difficult on Saturday. Whiteout conditions will result in very low visibility and poor driving conditions. People are encouraged to stay at home, if they can.
“Snowfall rates of almost 3 inches per hour in the foothills in the Saturday night forecast, which means travel would be impossible,” said the NWS in Boulder. “Boulder and Fort Collins were able to see snowfall rates of around 2 inches per hour during this period.”
The threat of a severe storm is also starting to increase today. The areas with the greatest threat of bad weather on Saturday will be Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Abilene, Texas and Wichita, Kansas.
The threats themselves remain the same as on Friday – damaging winds, hail and isolated tornadoes. The difference is the location and intensity of the storms. The system – slowly – shifts to the east.
The schedule for the best serious chances seems to be in the afternoon and early evening. While part of the threat of severe storms decreases overnight, it will not decrease entirely. Power outages are possible.
There is still some uncertainty as to whether all the necessary ingredients will be present for a harsh and robust climate, particularly in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas on Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday
On Sunday, the storm system basically becomes stationary in the southeastern tip of Colorado and western Kansas. This will weaken the system’s impact on snowfall rates, which are expected to start to decline substantially over the course of the day. However, drivers should still be careful, as the roads are still expected to be very dangerous.
Although the snow may start to subside, the serious threat certainly does not subside – it just changes locations.
On Sunday, severe storms push eastward into Arkansas, Missouri and Louisiana.
One thing that could limit the severe potential would be cloud cover. However, any gusts of sunlight would allow for an increase in instability.
The other growing concern for Sunday will be the threat of flooding, particularly in parts of Missouri, Kansas and Illinois – where flood watchers already exist.
Other states – like Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Indiana – also have the potential for flooding, especially if storms start to hit the same locations.
The total widespread rainfall until Sunday is expected to be in the range of 2 to 4 inches, but some isolated spots may exceed 6 inches in total.
