More snow? Winter's next punch to blanket Four Corners, Plains
By
Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Mar 17, 2021 2:40 PM EDT
As people across Colorado woke up to feet of snow Monday, it meant a lot of shoveling and snow blowing ahead. However, some people were happy about it.
Snowfall in the forecast may not be exactly what some residents of the Four Corners and Plains states want to hear following the weekend's crushing snowstorm. This time, the wintry weather will be a quick hitter and likely spare the big cities that were buried beneath feet of snow, forecasters say.
A storm that swept through California with soaking rain, thunderstorms and hail at the beginning of the week will cruise along at a fast pace through Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico into Tuesday night, before sweeping across the central and southern Plains Tuesday night into Wednesday night.
The storm will tap into just enough cold air to lay a path of accumulating snowfall in its wake.
While some of the highest snowfall totals will be reserved for the mountainous areas, even lower elevations of the central and southern Plains can receive enough snow for slushy and slippery travel.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
A period of heavy snow swept through Flagstaff, Arizona, early Tuesday morning and brought a quick 1-3 inches of accumulation. Flagstaff is running well above average in terms of snowfall so far this month, picking up an inch more than its March average of 20.7 inches in the first 15 days of the month alone.
Even higher snowfall totals are expected farther east, including along Interstate 25 near the New Mexico-Colorado border.
Raton Pass in New Mexico could turn particularly troublesome and even dangerous for drivers Tuesday night into Wednesday morning as heavy snow falls and strong winds whip visibility to near zero at times. Four to 8 inches of snow could pile up in the area, according to forecasters.
The gusty winds, blowing up to 60 mph at times, can cause extensive blowing and drifting snow.
Colorado Springs, Colorado, which received snowfall on the lower end of the weekend storm, relatively speaking, can pick up a fresh coating to an inch or two Tuesday night, leaving roadway conditions a bit slippery for the Wednesday morning commute.
Denver and Cheyenne, Wyoming, may escape with no more than a stray flurry as the storm passes by much farther south than its predecessor.
The storm's quick movement will allow conditions to improve rapidly from west to east across the Four Corners states with snow and wind diminishing at midweek.
By this point, however, wind-swept snow will be whipping through the southern Plains, including places such as Amarillo, Texas; Guymon, Oklahoma; and Dodge City, Kansas, making for a difficult drive to work and school Wednesday morning.
A swath of 3-6 inches of snow can target a narrow corridor of the southern Plains, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches possible throughout the storm's journey from the mountains to the lower elevations.
Beyond the southern Plains, the amount of cold air still available on the northwestern side of the storm remains somewhat in question heading into Wednesday night and Thursday. At this point, AccuWeather meteorologists cannot rule out the potential for rain to change over to snow and accumulate a slushy coating to a few inches from portions of northeastern Kansas to northern Missouri and southern Iowa during this time frame.
The storm could even bring another wintry hit to the Northeast late this week, just prior to the official start of spring. In addition, the storm is likely to be responsible for unleashing a multi-day severe weather and tornado outbreak across the South.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
More snow? Winter's next punch to blanket Four Corners, Plains
By Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Mar 17, 2021 2:40 PM EDT
As people across Colorado woke up to feet of snow Monday, it meant a lot of shoveling and snow blowing ahead. However, some people were happy about it.
Snowfall in the forecast may not be exactly what some residents of the Four Corners and Plains states want to hear following the weekend's crushing snowstorm. This time, the wintry weather will be a quick hitter and likely spare the big cities that were buried beneath feet of snow, forecasters say.
A storm that swept through California with soaking rain, thunderstorms and hail at the beginning of the week will cruise along at a fast pace through Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico into Tuesday night, before sweeping across the central and southern Plains Tuesday night into Wednesday night.
The storm will tap into just enough cold air to lay a path of accumulating snowfall in its wake.
While some of the highest snowfall totals will be reserved for the mountainous areas, even lower elevations of the central and southern Plains can receive enough snow for slushy and slippery travel.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
A period of heavy snow swept through Flagstaff, Arizona, early Tuesday morning and brought a quick 1-3 inches of accumulation. Flagstaff is running well above average in terms of snowfall so far this month, picking up an inch more than its March average of 20.7 inches in the first 15 days of the month alone.
Even higher snowfall totals are expected farther east, including along Interstate 25 near the New Mexico-Colorado border.
Raton Pass in New Mexico could turn particularly troublesome and even dangerous for drivers Tuesday night into Wednesday morning as heavy snow falls and strong winds whip visibility to near zero at times. Four to 8 inches of snow could pile up in the area, according to forecasters.
The gusty winds, blowing up to 60 mph at times, can cause extensive blowing and drifting snow.
Colorado Springs, Colorado, which received snowfall on the lower end of the weekend storm, relatively speaking, can pick up a fresh coating to an inch or two Tuesday night, leaving roadway conditions a bit slippery for the Wednesday morning commute.
Denver and Cheyenne, Wyoming, may escape with no more than a stray flurry as the storm passes by much farther south than its predecessor.
The storm's quick movement will allow conditions to improve rapidly from west to east across the Four Corners states with snow and wind diminishing at midweek.
By this point, however, wind-swept snow will be whipping through the southern Plains, including places such as Amarillo, Texas; Guymon, Oklahoma; and Dodge City, Kansas, making for a difficult drive to work and school Wednesday morning.
A swath of 3-6 inches of snow can target a narrow corridor of the southern Plains, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches possible throughout the storm's journey from the mountains to the lower elevations.
Beyond the southern Plains, the amount of cold air still available on the northwestern side of the storm remains somewhat in question heading into Wednesday night and Thursday. At this point, AccuWeather meteorologists cannot rule out the potential for rain to change over to snow and accumulate a slushy coating to a few inches from portions of northeastern Kansas to northern Missouri and southern Iowa during this time frame.
The storm could even bring another wintry hit to the Northeast late this week, just prior to the official start of spring. In addition, the storm is likely to be responsible for unleashing a multi-day severe weather and tornado outbreak across the South.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo