Severe weather is wreaking havoc across the United States this week, with residents of the Northern Plains on Wednesday as a massive storm threatens record snowfall across parts of the country, while California faces strong winds and widespread power outages.
Schools in the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have announced closures Wednesday ahead of a major winter storm that is expected to affect millions, as officials warned residents to stay off the streets due to possible “whiteout” conditions. given.
The National Weather Service has forecast up to two feet of snow in some areas by Thursday across the western and north-central U.S. Winter storm, blizzard and high wind advisories have been issued for swaths of the U.S.
‘Multiple meteorological hazards’
The National Weather Service said the arrival of a large Arctic air mass from Canada “interacting with energetic upper-level patterns and multiple frontal systems forecast to move through the country this week will bring a number of meteorological hazards.”
The weather service said widespread heavy snow is expected to continue across the west and northern tier of the country, with storm totals of 1 to 2 feet of snowfall expected across most of the west’s mountain ranges. It said heavy snow is expected across east-central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin.
Wind gusts could reach 50 mph over parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota, with wind gusts expected to reach minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the weather service.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a tweet Tuesday, “As it is estimated that up to 20 inches of snow could fall, I have directed state agencies including @MnDPS_MSP, @MnDOT, and @MNNationalGuard to take steps to prepare “
Residents warned to ‘limit travel’
“We’re working to make sure we’re prepared — and Minnesotans have a part to play, too. Plan ahead, drive safe, and limit travel,” he said.
“Snowplow crews will be working across the state, but this storm may be dodging,” the Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a tweet.
Schools across the state also announced closures, with Minneapolis Public Schools stating on its website that all MPS buildings would remain closed “due to the upcoming winter storm”.
“We will have e-learning days for all MP students for the remainder of this week,” the district said.
“On Wednesday the snow will begin to reduce northwards and concentrate southwards by Thursday,” it said.
Strong winds and lightning
California is also facing winter weather, with winds expected to bring possible rain, snow, and hail to parts of the state starting Tuesday.
As of Wednesday morning, thousands of utility customers across the state were without power. According to the online outage tracking website PowerOutage.us, more than 154,700 customers were affected by the outage.
The National Weather Service warned, “There will be little or no break from active weather in California as another Pacific storm system is forecast to approach the coast late Thursday, with the potential for low-lying rain/snow at higher elevations.”
Record hot somewhere
Meanwhile, moderate to locally heavy rain, as well as some thunderstorms, are expected for the lower elevations of the West Coast, with rain expected from the Pacific Northwest Wednesday as far south as the California coast through Thursday.
As much of the US struggles with snow and cold weather, record heat is expected in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
“Higher temperatures will climb from the southern plains Wednesday-Thursday east into the 70s and 80s across the Southeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic,” the National Weather Service said. “These highs on Thursday will be especially odd for the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic, where temperatures 40+ degrees above average will feel more like June than February.”