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A massive winter storm blew into the central United States on Monday, threatening millions with snow, freezing rain and flooding.
The National Weather Service warned that “massive, widespread, and far-reaching weather hazards are expected across the central part of the country this week.” People were warned for blizzard-like weather across the Rocky Mountains, into the northern Plains and parts of the Midwest. Be prepared for the weather. Farther south in Texas and Louisiana could see heavy rain with flash flooding, hail and tornadoes through Tuesday. Forecasters said the storm will continue southeast into Florida later this week.
“It’s going to be a busy week as this system moves across the country,” said Mark Chenard, a meteorologist at National Weather Service headquarters in College Park, Maryland.
Officials in western South Dakota told residents to brace for 6 inches (15 centimeters) or more of snow: “Get your shovels ready, grab your groceries, and check other needed supplies. The road is going to be rough.” “
A swath of the state stretching from Montana to western Nebraska and Colorado was under a blizzard warning on Monday, and the National Weather Service said some areas in western South Dakota and northwestern Nebraska could see up to 2 feet (61 cm) of snowfall. Meanwhile, ice and sleet are expected across the eastern Great Plains.
About half an inch (2.5 centimeters) of ice could form in parts of Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota, with winds of up to 45 mph (72 kph), the National Weather Service warned. Power outages, tree damage, fallen branches and hazardous travel conditions all threaten the area.
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“This is a ‘we’re not kidding’ storm,” the South Dakota Department of Public Safety said in a tweet, urging people to stock up on essentials and stay home if the storm hits.
Thousands of students from Native American communities in Wyoming, Nebraska and the Dakotas traveled to Rapid City, South Dakota, for this week’s Lakota National Invitational, a high school athletic event. Brian Brewer, one of the organizers, said he had urged schools and participants to travel early.
“We told them this storm was coming — if you leave tomorrow, you probably won’t be able to make it,” he said on Monday.
In northern Utah, a tour bus crashed Monday morning as snow and frigid temperatures blanketed the area. The bus flipped over in Tremonton after the driver lost control while switching lanes, the Highway Patrol said in a statement. The Highway Patrol said 23 passengers were injured, some seriously.
The weather is part of the same system that dumped heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada over the weekend.
In Northern California, most mountain roads reopened on Monday. The National Weather Service said it expects the remaining warnings to expire Monday evening in Southern California’s mountains.
With winter still a little over a week away, this is the latest fall storm to bring heavy rainfall to California, which is dealing with the effects of a multiyear drought that has sparked calls to conserve water.
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The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab in northwest Lake Tahoe reported that the storm dropped 54.5 inches (138.5 centimeters) of snow.
Sierra snowpack peaks on average on April 1st and is usually an important source of water during the spring melt. Throughout the drought, experts have been optimistic about early-season storms as climate change makes once-average conditions rare.
Last year, a powerful atmospheric river brought heavy rainfall to California in October, and a wet spell in December buried parts of the Sierra Nevada under snow. The state then experienced its driest January through April on record.
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