First Impactful Winter Storm Eyes Western U.S. Mountains
Mere days away from flipping the calendar to November, a quick-hitting winter storm will dump heavy, wind-whipped snow across some of the tallest Western U.S. mountains through midweek. Gusty winds will also be a problem too.
A large, digging disturbance at high altitudes of the atmosphere will chug east across the Western U.S. through midweek. An area of low pressure, first in southern Nevada today, will jump to the Colorado Plains and intensify on Tuesday. A mix of cold, Canadian air and eastern Pacific moisture in its wake will combine to deliver the season’s first significant winter storm across many of the West’s tallest peaks the next couple of days.
Already, Winter Storm Warnings have been issued across south-central Montana, as well as northern and western Wyoming from tonight until Wednesday morning. Winter Weather Advisories also sporadically blanket the Wasatch and Rocky Front Range from parts of southwestern Montana to Utah and west of the Continental Divide in Colorado through the first half of Wednesday.
Further west across elevations above 7,000 feet in southeastern Nevada, Winter Weather Advisories are in effect from this evening until predawn on Tuesday. Storm snowfall accumulation of up to 6 inches and gusty winds peaking at 45 mph will pack difficult driving in cities such as Alama, Rachel, and Pioche, Nev.
Snow will first develop across southern Nevada later today. Spreading rapidly northeast and intensifying throughout Tuesday, big snowfall totals will likely be commonplace across the Wasatch and Rocky Front Range from Utah to western Colorado, western Wyoming, and far southern and southwestern Montana. By midday on Wednesday when the final flakes fly, the San Juan mountains in Colorado, near and west of Aspen, Colo., Utah’s Uinta mountains, and the Wind River and Big Horn mountains in Wyoming will be digging out of the heaviest snowfall.
Six to 12 inches will be common from 7,500 feet to 10,000 feet. The tallest peaks above 10,000 feet will be plowing out from up to 16 inches of new snow by midweek. Traveling along Highway 14 across the Bighorn Mountains in northern Wyoming will be very challenging. Make sure to check ahead about chain requirements if traveling cannot be avoided. Similar travel headaches will develop along large stretches of Interstate 80 in Utah, particularly between Ogden and Park City. Gusty winds of 35 to 45 mph will reduce visibility significantly and could knock some tree branches down.
It’s never too early to have a supply kit packed in case of inclement weather. A simple kit including a weather radio, water, blankets, batteries, and non-perishable food items will go a long way in the event of a power outage. It’s always best to avoid travel in rough weather as the roads will be dangerous.
Snow isn’t the only problem that will be dished out by this storm. Gusty winds, which will occur ahead and behind the storm’s cold front, will ratchet up the fire danger risk, particularly over the central and southern Plains. Combined with low relative humidity, unseasonably warm weather, and dry fuels, there will remain an elevated fire risk danger throughout early this week from southeastern Colorado to much of Oklahoma and Kansas. Red Flag Warnings remain in effect, including Pueblo and Colorado Springs, Colo., as well as Manhattan and Liberal, Kan., Woodward, Altus, and Oklahoma City, Okla., and Wichita Falls, Texas.
Wind Advisories and High Wind Watches remain in effect sporadically from California to Arizona, New Mexico, to as far east as Missouri. Peak sustained wind of 25 to 40 mph and gusts up to 65 mph may knock out power, create difficult travel, especially in high-profile vehicles, and send loose objects airborne.
Las Vegas, Death Valley, Burbank, and Baker, Calif., Flagstaff, Ariz., Clayton, N.M., Dalhart, Texas, Colby to Goodland, Lawrence, and Topeka, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., are included.