Winter Weather
The calendar may have just turned to October, however, a winter storm
is poised to bring heavy snow to the northern Rockies, some snow even
at lower elevations, and perhaps the season's first snow to parts of the
Northern Plains.
Wednesday night: Precipitation will already begin to
pick up in western Wyoming, Idaho, southern Montana and far northern
Utah Wednesday night. This precipitation will be in the form of snow
already at higher elevations, including the Tetons, Bighorns, and
Beartooth Ranges of Wyoming and far southwest Montana.
Thursday: Snow will become more widespread in southern Montana, central and eastern Idaho, far northern Utah, western and central Wyoming, and the mountains of northern Colorado. This includes some valley locations such as Jackson, Wyo.
Thursday night: Rain changes to snow on the Plains of Wyoming, the Black Hills of South Dakota and perhaps the Nebraska Panhandle. Strong north to northeast winds in these areas may produce areas of limited visibility.
Friday: Snow, possibly heavy, will persist in much of Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota, the mountains of northern Colorado and far northern Utah. Rain may mix with or change to wet snow in parts of western Nebraska and western South Dakota. Strong north winds will lead to reduced visibility in eastern Wyoming, the mountains of northern Colorado, western Nebraska and western South Dakota.
Friday night: Rain should change to wet snow in western Nebraska, lower elevations of western and central South Dakota, and perhaps parts of central North Dakota. Reduced visibility thanks to strong northwest winds can be expected as well.
Saturday: Wet snow may persist in parts of the Dakotas and northern, western Nebraska.
(CITY FORECASTS: Cheyenne, Wyo. | Casper, Wyo. | Rapid City, S.D. | Pierre, S.D.)
Now, let's address the impacts, including snow accumulations, wind and potential for power outages.
As you can see in our snowfall forecast map at right, the heaviest
snow accumulations are expected to be over the highest elevations of
southern Montana, Wyoming and far northern Colorado. More than a foot of
total snow is likely over the Tetons, Bighorns and Beartooth Ranges of
Wyoming and far southwest Montana, as well as the Black Hills of South
Dakota and mountains of far northern Colorado.
With that said, significant accumulations, possibly more than 6 inches, are also expected over some lower-elevation cities including Casper, Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyo.
As the winter storm treks east, the forecast for snow in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest becomes more dicey, typical of an early or late-season event.
There's a chance that we could see rain change to or mix with snow at times from the Dakotas and western Nebraska to northern Minnesota later Friday into Saturday. This will be dependent on how much cold air comes southward from Canada in combination with how much cold air the storm can generate itself.
If this happens, there is a potential for at least one, if not several inches of wet snow from western Nebraska into western and central South Dakota, and perhaps parts of North Dakota.
If any snowflakes do fly through the air, it would be the first of the season for this region, and would be among the earliest one-inch-plus snowfalls on record for locations such as Pierre, S.D.
(PHOTOS: Northern Rockies Snow Last Week)
If that wasn't enough, strong winds will pick up Thursday night, and continue through much of Friday and Friday night in these areas.
The combination of wet, heavy snow and strong winds will not lead to reduced visibility with local blizzard conditions in parts of Wyoming, the mountains of far northern Colorado and the Black Hills of South Dakota from late Thursday through Friday night.
In addition, the weight of wet snow and force from strong winds will lead to some downed trees and power lines, leading to power outages.
Check back with weather.com and The Weather Channel for more updates on this developing storm.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Iconic Winter Storm Images of 2013
Winter Storm to Bring Heavy Snow to Rockies, First Snow to Parts of Northern Plains
By Jon Erdman
Published: Oct 2, 2013, 9:49 AM EDT
weather.com
Timeline
Thursday Rain, Snow Forecast
Friday Rain, Snow Forecast
Thursday: Snow will become more widespread in southern Montana, central and eastern Idaho, far northern Utah, western and central Wyoming, and the mountains of northern Colorado. This includes some valley locations such as Jackson, Wyo.
Thursday night: Rain changes to snow on the Plains of Wyoming, the Black Hills of South Dakota and perhaps the Nebraska Panhandle. Strong north to northeast winds in these areas may produce areas of limited visibility.
Friday: Snow, possibly heavy, will persist in much of Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota, the mountains of northern Colorado and far northern Utah. Rain may mix with or change to wet snow in parts of western Nebraska and western South Dakota. Strong north winds will lead to reduced visibility in eastern Wyoming, the mountains of northern Colorado, western Nebraska and western South Dakota.
Friday night: Rain should change to wet snow in western Nebraska, lower elevations of western and central South Dakota, and perhaps parts of central North Dakota. Reduced visibility thanks to strong northwest winds can be expected as well.
Saturday: Wet snow may persist in parts of the Dakotas and northern, western Nebraska.
(CITY FORECASTS: Cheyenne, Wyo. | Casper, Wyo. | Rapid City, S.D. | Pierre, S.D.)
Now, let's address the impacts, including snow accumulations, wind and potential for power outages.
Impacts
Snowfall Amounts Forecast
Winter Alerts
With that said, significant accumulations, possibly more than 6 inches, are also expected over some lower-elevation cities including Casper, Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyo.
As the winter storm treks east, the forecast for snow in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest becomes more dicey, typical of an early or late-season event.
There's a chance that we could see rain change to or mix with snow at times from the Dakotas and western Nebraska to northern Minnesota later Friday into Saturday. This will be dependent on how much cold air comes southward from Canada in combination with how much cold air the storm can generate itself.
If this happens, there is a potential for at least one, if not several inches of wet snow from western Nebraska into western and central South Dakota, and perhaps parts of North Dakota.
If any snowflakes do fly through the air, it would be the first of the season for this region, and would be among the earliest one-inch-plus snowfalls on record for locations such as Pierre, S.D.
(PHOTOS: Northern Rockies Snow Last Week)
If that wasn't enough, strong winds will pick up Thursday night, and continue through much of Friday and Friday night in these areas.
The combination of wet, heavy snow and strong winds will not lead to reduced visibility with local blizzard conditions in parts of Wyoming, the mountains of far northern Colorado and the Black Hills of South Dakota from late Thursday through Friday night.
In addition, the weight of wet snow and force from strong winds will lead to some downed trees and power lines, leading to power outages.
Check back with weather.com and The Weather Channel for more updates on this developing storm.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Iconic Winter Storm Images of 2013
Winter Storm Athena
The storm that followed closely behind
Superstorm Sandy left huge snowfall totals in some areas. Leading the
way were Monroe and Clintonville, Conn., receiving 13.5 inches of snow
each. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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