A significant winter storm will contribute to dangerous travel conditions in parts of the Plains and Midwest as its combination of high winds and snowfall creates blizzard conditions in some areas.
The system has been named Winter Storm Lola by The Weather Channel.
(​MORE: Why Winter Storms Are Named)
Lola’s Latest Status
W​et snow and high winds are hammering parts of the Plains from Minnesota and South Dakota to western Kansas and parts of Colorado.
O​n the High Plains, gusts up to 82 mph have been measured near Arapahoe, Colorado, and O’Neill, Nebraska recorded visibility as low as one-tenth mile with 2 inches of snow, so far.
H​eavier snow totals have been harder to come by, so far. The town of Kim, in far southeast Colorado, reported 9 inches of snowfall, while both Huron and Watertown, South Dakota, have picked up 4 inches.
Winter weather alerts have been issued by the National Weather Service from the Rockies into the Central Plains and upper Midwest. That includes blizzard warnings for portions of those regions that include Kansas City, Omaha, Nebraska, Des Moines, Iowa, and Rochester, Minnesota.
While this storm won’t produce huge snowfall totals, t​ravel should be avoid in an areas under blizzard warnings and/or winter storm warnings. That’s because the combination of snow and strong winds could create whiteout conditions at times in these areas.
Winter Weather Alerts
(Issued by the National Weather Service)
Storm Timing
Tuesday Night: Snow or rain changing to snow spreads eastward through the central Plains into the upper Midwest. Increasing winds will lead to dangerous travel conditions.
Gusts could top 60, even 70 mph in the central Plains, and the upper Midwest might see gusts over 50 or 60 mph Tuesday night. T​ravel conditions will likely be extremely dangerous where the snow and strong winds overlap. Some broken tree limbs and power outages are possible, as well.
Wednesday-Wednesday Night: The threat of snow or rain changing to snow and strong winds will continue Wednesday in the upper Midwest, stretching across the rest of the Great Lakes, Ohio River Valley and Appalachians by Wednesday night.
Because of the overall warm temperatures across the U.S. this week, there will not be a large region of heavy snow from the storm, but snowy conditions could impact cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
(192-hours: Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience.)
How Much Snow
P​arts of the upper Midwest, from Iowa to northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, could pick up over 6 inches of wet, heavy snowfall. With some lake enhancement, those totals could exceed a foot in Michigan’s U.P.
T​he combination of that wet, heavy snow and high winds could lead to tree damage and power outages.
B​ut even in areas of the Plains with lighter accumulations, high winds could lead to whiteout conditions, at times, as far south as northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri.
Sara Tonks is a content meteorologist with weather.com and has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Georgia Tech in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences along with a master’s degree from Unity Environmental University in Marine Science.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives.
