A map released by the Weather Channel on Sunday shows that two states in the Northern Great Plains will be hit by blizzard conditions from Sunday night through Wednesday. This means that driving in several states could be dangerous over the Christmas holiday.
The strong winter storm comes after a storm in the Pacific Ocean that dumped heavy rain on southern California on Thursday and then moved east, bringing snow and rain to New Mexico. A Saturday Fox Weather report said that the storm is coming from the Pacific Northwest and would make travel “dangerous” for holiday tourists.
The map from the Weather Channel shows that a blizzard watch is in effect for most of Nebraska and parts of southeast and central South Dakota. Up to 18 inches of snow is expected to fall in northern Nebraska and much of central South Dakota. Windy weather and rain could make driving dangerous.
In her report, a Weather Channel meteorologist said, “Take a snow globe and shake it up. That’s what it’ll look like over some of these highways.” “So be careful if you are traveling over the next couple of days.”
The Weather Channel also said that “blowing snow” could make it harder to see. Also, almost the whole state of Nebraska is expected to get at least 8 inches of snow.
There will be “pretty big snow drifts” all over the state because of the heavy snow and strong winds—gusts of up to 60 miles per hour in some parts of central South Dakota. The winds are coming from the north, bringing cold air with them. This makes it likely that up to half an inch of ice will fall. Nebraska might have wind gusts of up to 40 mph.
A winter weather warning covers Wyoming and Colorado, and a winter storm watch covers northern Kansas in the south. Fox Weather says that snow flurries will fall in several states through Wednesday. These states include Michigan, Iowa, and Illinois. However, less than an inch is expected to fall. In the meantime, it will rain in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Indiana where it is warmer than usual.
The scary weather comes after a storm in California dumped a month’s worth of rain on Oxnard in just one hour on Thursday morning. The high elevations of New Mexico got a lot of snow after that storm.
This year, Nebraska and South Dakota are not having a typical white Christmas. AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines told Newsweek that El Niño will make it less likely for northern states to see snow on Christmas, though the Northern Great Plains had a higher chance of seeing snow than other places.