Last week marked the first official day of spring, but millions of Americans are still experiencing winter weather as the country prepares for a huge blizzard.
On Sunday, 16 states from California to Michigan issued winter storm warnings, citing the next big storm’s potential for significant snow and travel disruptions through Tuesday.
Winter alerts are currently issued from Montana to Michigan, a radius of roughly 1,400 miles.
From northwest Kansas to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 6 to 12 inches of snow are expected, with some areas receiving up to 2 feet of snow.
Blizzard warnings are currently issued from eastern Colorado to South Dakota. Winds gusting up to 60 mph will cause occasional whiteout conditions from Sunday to Tuesday early.
While snowstorms in the central United States are not uncommon at this time of year, much of the impacted area hasn’t seen much winter weather in recent months.
Minnesota and Wisconsin just had their warmest winter on record, with snowfall less than half of what is typical in locations like Minneapolis.
The collision of cold and warm air on the storm’s southern tier, among other causes, will lead to a probable multi-day severe weather outbreak from the Southern Plains to the Deep South.
Today, thunderstorms in Kansas and Oklahoma will provide a hazard of destructive winds, huge hail, and tornadoes.
Strong to severe storms are expected to roll into Texas late tonight and early Monday morning, eventually spreading to Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi during the day.
These storms will also bring heavy rainfall, which may raise concerns about flash floods in the South.
Over the weekend, cities from Baltimore to Boston received 2 to 4 inches of rain.
Northern New England also had heavy snowfall, with Albany, New Hampshire, receiving 28 inches. Vermont and Maine had more than two feet of snow.
