Winter Storm Walda Slams The Plains and Rockies In April 2013
Winter Storm Walda brings heavy snow, very high winds, and a drastic drop in temperatures for parts of the Rockies and Plains.
Tuesday: Areas of snow, locally heavy, across the mountains of Utah, much of Colorado and Wyoming, and into western, central, and northeastern South Dakota. Significant travel impact likely on I-25, I-80, I-70, I-76 and I-90 in these areas. Subzero wind chills will add to the potential danger for stranded motorists; if you must travel, bring a winter survival kit.
A wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain will stretch from northwest Kansas through central Nebraska into eastern South Dakota and central Minnesota, with the most significant amounts of icy precipitation from northern Nebraska through southeast South Dakota and southwest Minnesota.
Early Tuesday morning, doors were reportedly frozen shut by heavy freezing rain, accompanied by thunder, in southeast South Dakota.
For Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front, strong damaging easterly winds gusting up to 75 mph, blowing down the western slopes of the Wasatch Range, will continue through much of Tuesday. This is creating dangerous crosswinds on Interstate 15, especially from the Salt Lake Valley north to the Idaho border.
Power outages have been reported. Downed trees, power lines, and flying debris may pose additional dangers to motorists. High wind warnings have been issued for much of northern Utah.
Snow and strong gusty winds will continue for the Colorado Front Range urban corridor including Denver and Colorado Springs. Wind gusts to 60 mph have already been reported in the latter city. Blizzard warnings are in effect for the I-25 corridor from the south side of Denver to the New Mexico border Tuesday. Flight delays and cancellations are already being reported to and from Denver Int’l Airport.
Tuesday night: Winds and snowfall will gradually diminish over the Rockies. Heavy snow will continue to pummel South Dakota with parts of the state exceeding a foot of accumulation. Snow will also continue to accumulate for western and central Nebraska and should extend east into parts of central Minnesota.
An icy mix of sleet and freezing rain is likely Tuesday night for eastern Nebraska, far northwest Iowa, southeast South Dakota, and much of southern Minnesota. The greatest risk of significant ice accumulation (potentially a quarter of an inch of ice glaze or more) looks to be in southeast South Dakota and southern Minnesota during this period.
Wednesday through Friday: It is becoming increasingly likely that a stripe of accumulating snow will extend from South Dakota through central and southern Minnesota into northern parts of Wisconsin and Michigan. Snowfall totals could be significant, especially in South Dakota where the snow will add to what’s already falling Tuesday.
It is not out of the question that some locations in this zone, such as Sioux Falls and Minneapolis, could see off and on wintry precipitation in the form of snow and/or sleet and freezing rain for a 36- to 48-hour period from Winter Storm Walda.
Source: Weather Channel