The holiday travel season is being affected by a massive winter storm

An Oklahoma Winter Storm as a Source of Power Outages for Highways and Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Transportation and Infrastructure: Predictions for the First Full Weekend of 2023

As the eastern US deals with the aftermath of a deadly winter storm that left wide swaths of the country under dangerously cold temperatures, a river of water is rushing through the region, which can carry thousands of miles.

A massive winter storm bringing a mix of heavy snow, rain and gusty winds is poised to lash much of the US West and North this week and has put more than 40 million people across 22 states under winter weather alerts Tuesday.

“California continues to take the brunt of the heavy precipitation and strong winds associated with these systems as we head into the first full weekend of 2023,” the National Weather Service said early Friday morning.

Winds are forecast to be around 40-50 mph in the valleys and up to 70 mph in the mountains, which is lower than the storm earlier this week, but still nothing to brush off.

The snow is falling at a very fast rate near the Great Lakes and with gusts of 40-50 mph. Major disruptions to travel, infrastructure, livestock and recreation will be one of the consequences of that.

The NWS warns of the dangers of low visibility on top of snow covered roads. “The strong winds could lead to potential power outages from the Midwest to the Northeast.”

The season where tornadoes occur in December tends to be more frequent in the fall and winter than in the springtime, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

The National Weather Service said in an advisory that wind gusts of up to 55 mph are predicted Wednesday morning in parts of Oklahoma into western Arkansas, Missouri and western Illinois.

As small-scale trends become more evident, details regarding the areas most at risk from tornadoes will become clearer.

First Big Storm in the Sierra: The Effects of Snow and High Winds on Road Users and Towns in Sonoma County, California

More than 250 miles (400 kilometers) of the Sierra remained under a winter storm warning at least until Sunday night or early Monday from north of Reno to south of Yosemite National Park.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation closed stretches of Interstate 80 and Interstate 76 in western as heavy snow and high winds made travel dangerous. The Nebraska State Patrol was called to deal with crashes and jackknifed semitrailers overnight and urged people to stay off the roads.

The US Forest Service said that a few feet of new snow and strong winds will result in dangerous avalanche conditions in the mountains west of Lake Tahoe.

The weather service issued a flash flood warning on Saturday when inches of rain fell on burn scars left by wildfires south of Monterey and farther south of Big Sur.

The online map showed that over 153,000 customers were affected by Saturday’s power failures. The utility said in a TWo message that it was preparing additional resources while it tried to restore power.

San Francisco Bay Area officials reported power outages and fallen trees, some of which damaged cars and homes. There were several reports of downed trees falling into homes in Monte Rio, a town along the Russian River in Sonoma County.

Monte Rio Fire Department Chief Steve Baxman told KRON-TV that four different down trees had damaged houses in the area and that no injuries were reported.

We have had a long time of dry weather and this is our first big storm. Now they’re filling up with water and starting to topple over,” Baxman told the television station.

The Santa Monica Snowmass in the South Side of Yosemite, California, Including More Than 35 Inches of Snow Over the Last 24 Hours

The south side of Yosemite has experienced more than 10 feet (3 meters) of snow since early November, and 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow already had fallen Saturday in the Sierra.

California is off to a fast start with snowpack, a critical source of water and good news for some improvement in drought conditions. The California Department of Water Resources reported last week that the state’s snow cover was more than 150% of normal.

“The snowpack is about 225% of normal, so it’s more than twice what we’d be expecting this time in December,” said Mark Deutschendorf, forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Reno.

It appears to be a lot like Christmas out here. “It didn’t come with a lot of wind, and it stuck to everything. It’s like a picture postcard.”

He noted that the snow has been impressive so far, but that he is cautiously optimistic that the precipitation will be good news for the state.

The ski resort shared photos on its website on Sunday of thick snow covered in Olympic Valley, California.

This is definitely a storm to remember. We’ve now received 7.5 feet of snow since December 1st. Plus, in just 24 hours from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, we received more than 35 inches of snow — the 6th largest snowfall total in 24 hours that we have on record,” resort operators wrote.

South Dakota Transportation warned against road closures in light of the National Weather Service tornado warning. More than 200 tornadoes have been reported across southern states

The National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota, said travel through the area will be nearly impossible Tuesday and Wednesday, and possibly into Thursday.

Interstates in South Dakota could become impassable amid the blizzard conditions, resulting in roadway closures across the state, the South Dakota Department of Transportation warned Monday.

In Minnesota, the National Weather Service issued various winter weather alerts, including a winter storm warning, an ice storm warning and a winter weather advisory. Travel statewide could be impacted by the challenging winter weather, according to the department of transportation.

Hans Rodvik, a spokeswoman for the office of the mayor of Alaska, said in a statement to CNN that the storms that have hit the state are historic in nature and bring anywhere between 30 and 40 inches of snow to the city.

These areas have seen a huge amount of respite from the drought in the past week. Tennessee, for example, went from 96% of the state under drought to being at 46% this week.

Meanwhile, damage was reported in the Oklahoma town of Wayne after the weather service warned of a “confirmed tornado” shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday. Video footage from Oklahoma TV station KOCO showed substantial damage to a home in Wayne, which is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.

The tornado was rated an E-2 by the National Weather Service, with wind speeds reaching more than 200 mph. It was likely on the ground for about two to four minutes, according to the weather service.

Several southern states were hit by tornadoes this week due to a storm system hitting the Northeast. Dozens of tornadoes were reported across Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma since Tuesday.

The Northeast is Going Through a “We Are Not Joking” Season in a Snowy and a Windy Season for the U.S.

At the Flying J truck stop in Nebraska, there’s not a single person traveling right now. He said he got to work before the roads were closed, but likely won’t be able to get home Tuesday. Outside the doors, I can see the first pole, but not the rest of the lot. I’ll probably get a motel room tonight.

The Department of Public Safety in South Dakota says this is a “we are not joking” kind of storm. People were told to stay at home and stock up on necessities.

“It will be a busy week for the weather service as the system moves around the country,” said Chenard.

In northern Utah, a tour bus crashed Monday morning as snow and frigid temperatures blanketed the region. The bus flipped on its side after the driver lost control, the highway patrol said in a statement. 23 passengers were injured, according to the Highway Patrol.

After a nor’easter dropped more than a foot of snow across many parts of interior New England, more is on its way Saturday as officials warn of dangerous travel conditions the weekend before Christmas.

In response to the massive storm system, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned residents of the hazardous road conditions the storm is threatening to bring as millions across in the Northeast are under winter weather alerts Friday.

Hochul urged everyone in the affected areas to avoid unnecessary travel. Make sure that you and your loved ones remain vigilant if you are able to work from home.

In case you’re wondering, many airports have issued waivers for flights because of low visibility from the snow and also because it could pose a safety risk.

A strong storm system bringing heavy rain, mountain snow and hurricane-force wind gusts to much of the drought-parched western United States has left more than 115,000 customers without power as the region braces for more wet, blustery weather in coming days.

The winter storm in the Southern U.S. created dangerous travel conditions and disrupted thousands of flights. There was a car accident in Texas which killed one person.

A quarter of an inch of ice was reported in the mountains of West Virginia and Maryland after the storm hit the Mid-Atlantic.

Several thousand people are without proper heating in the Upper Midwest due to powerful winds knocked down power lines.

The New York City Floods: Power Outages, Tree Damage and State Snow Forecasts for the First Day after the Louisiana Tornado Instability

A mother and her son are dead after a tornado destroyed their home in Louisiana.

Rain chances for New York City will increase through Saturday, with the heaviest rainfall expected between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. Sunday. Temperatures will be near 50 through most of the afternoon into Sunday.

“Power outages and areas of tree damage will be possible across these areas [from the Great Lakes into the Northeast], and especially for the locations seeing a combination of stronger winds and accumulating ice,” the National Weather Service predicted.

About a million households were without power on Thursday. Michigan was hit with freezing rain and ice which caused more than half a million of those outages. That’s according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages state-by-state.

State police in Vermont advised drivers to slow down after they responded to a number of crashes. The roads were closed because of the storm.

Over a 36-hour period, 24.5 inches of snow fell in the Vermont town of Wilmington as well as more than 19 inches in Landgrove and Ludlow, the weather service said.

Plus, up to 2 feet of snow can accumulate in areas near or south of Buffalo, New York. The weather service said that the snow bands were likely to be very narrow and lead to a change of conditions over a short distance.

Light scattered snow showers are expected through Saturday morning, as snow showers slowly coming to an end across the region.

CNN releases a version of this article on Mondays in the weekly weather newsletter, the CNN Weather Brief. During significant storms, you can sign up to receive them every week.

For millions of Americans across a large swath of the country, the holiday week is beginning with unrelenting below-freezing temperatures made even more miserable by heavy snow expected Tuesday and Wednesday in several central and northwestern states.

Wind chill alerts stretch across much of Montana, the Dakotas, portions of Minnesota and Nebraska where wind chills could drop as low as 60 degrees below zero.

Life threatening cold has moved all the way to the Gulf Coast and the Mexican border with below zero wind chill noted as far south as Austin and Atlanta. Many locations in the eastern US are in for their coldest Christmas Eve in decades as the Arctic blast reaches its peak.

• Whiteout conditions: Blizzard conditions may exist even if snowfall stops, because high winds can pick up snow already on the ground and cause low visibility.

The high winds could cause power problems for the city on Friday. This will only exacerbate the storm’s impacts as wind chills will drop to at least 20 degrees below zero, possibly even colder.

“It’s night in the northern hemisphere Arctic regions and there’s snow and ice covering that entire area. Greg’s branch chief at the prediction center said there was a source freezer in thearctic polar regions. The cold air held on to those characteristics because there was a lots of snow on the ground in the north central United States.

According to the weather service, snow is expected during that time with travel becoming difficult or impossible. If you are stuck in the wind chills of 30 below to 45 below zero, this event could be life-threatening.

The storm is predicted to become a bomb on Friday. A bomb cyclone is when the storm gets so bad that the atmospheric pressure drops in a single day.

The Last Three Days of Winter Storms: Predictions for New England, South Dakota, and Washington, and Forecasts for Washington, Illinois, and beyond

“I-95 gets a slug of pretty deep rain and that can be a problem in those areas that are now seeing snow,” Carbin said. “You can see some runoff melting, maybe even some flooding.”

This major storm is upping the chances of a white Christmas for millions across the country. Some areas were already a given, considering there was snow already on the ground and the cold temperatures keeping it there.

At the minimum, the DC area is likely to have at least one inch of snow on Christmas Day. If the pattern comes together as it is, I would be willing to raise the chance of it going up from 25% to 30%, and that could happen in the next couple of days.

Half a million people from the Rockies all the way down to California are under winter weather advisories due to high gusts of wind that could be a Category 1 Hurricane. Already, electricity has been knocked out in parts of Oregon, Washington and California, according to PowerOutage.us.

South Dakota’s largest city is Sioux Falls. In addition to the up to 4 inches of snow the state has already seen, snowfall up to 16 inches and winds of 45 mph are also expected.

Seattle has been under a winter storm warning. The storm will move east into portions of Idaho Tuesday morning and then spread out across northern and central Montana later in the afternoon.

A winter storm watch is in effect for Chicago, which is expected to be the hardest hit city. With the possibility of a snowstorm, holiday travel could grind to a halt for many.

The weather service said that water pipes are at a high risk of bursting. A wind chill watch is in effect for Amarillo, Texas.

According to the weather service in Fort Worth, pipes will be at risk due to cold and windy weather this week. “Make sure to cover pipes and let faucets drip!”

The latest bulletin from the National Weather Service says that a strong high pressure system swept down from Canada on Tuesday and is poised to move towards the Southeast on Wednesday and Thursday, leaving a wake of life-threatening weather systems across 17 states.

As of Tuesday morning, air travel appeared largely undisturbed by the approaching polar front, with more than 575 delays and 285 cancellations at airports across the U.S., according to the tracking site Flight Aware.

The Denver-Den Denver Low Temperature Temperature Decay and the Nature of the Cold Air Showers: Effects of Wind and Wind Trajectories

Those venturing outside should dress in layers, cover their skin and change into dry clothing as soon as possible. But, experts say, the best prevention by far is simply to stay indoors.

The temperature at Denver International Airport was minus 24 degrees, which was the lowest recorded since 1990. At DIA, well over 500 flights — more than a quarter of all flights in or out of the airport — had so far been canceled Thursday. Roughly 480 more were delayed.

Snow could fall as far south as Jackson, Mississippi, Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee and even Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday. Most of the southern cities don’t have much to no snow, but Nashville could get about an inch.

The weather service has described the strength of the low as a once in a generation event, with its pressure equivalent to a Category 3 Hurricane as it reaches the Great Lakes.

There is a case where snow totals may not tell the whole story. Poor visibility and slippery spots can be caused by small amounts of snow combined with strong wind gusts. The sudden arrival of these conditions can increase the danger,” the weather service explained.

The State of Emergency in Georgia and the State of Texas, as Declared by the Governor of Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wyoming

Governors in Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wyoming declared states of emergency. Governors in Indiana, Colorado and Missouri activated the National Guard.

The governor told reporters that the declaration will help ensure essential supplies, especially propane, can be delivered for both commercial and residential needs.

The governor of Kentucky declared a state of emergency on Friday and wind gusts are expected to reach 40 to 50 mph. Beshear asked residents to stay off roads and to have a backup heat source.

President Biden said that the weather alert was a very serious one when he spoke to reporters Thursday morning. “This is not like a snow day when you were a kid. This is serious stuff.”

The cold front has moved so fast that the temperatures in the Rockies plunged at a record pace. In nine minutes, the temperature dropped to more than 30 degrees in Wyoming.

In Texas, where a winter storm in 2021 swamped the state’s power grid and killed more than 200 people, officials thought the grid would hold up despite the forecast calling for cold weather but little precipitation.

Peter Lake, Chairman of the state’s Public Utility Commission said at a Wednesday news conference that the grid is ready and reliable. It is expected that we have sufficient generation to meet demand throughout the event.

The City of Kansas City’s homeless services is shut, but there’s still a lot you can do in the next few years, says J.D. Pete

City officials insisted that crews were working around the clock to keep flights going at O’Hare and Midway airports, which are the hub airports for major airlines.

“These hard-working individuals will have at their disposal more than 350 pieces of snow removal equipment, more than 400,000 gallons of liquid deicer for runways and taxiways, and more than 5,000 tons of salt,” said Andrew Velasquez, the city’s deputy aviation commissioner.

Hundreds of miles away in Kansas City, the winter weather brought only an inch or two of snow. It was expected that the city’s homeless services would experience a lot of strain when the temperatures were predicted to be below freezing.

Many area shelters reported that they were at or near capacity despite adding beds this week. Some people sought shelter Thursday on the city’s streetcar, which was open after crews spent the night clearing the route and platforms.

“The library is closed. So it’s only this or the bus, or you go into a parking garage, but you’ll probably get kicked out,” said Pete, who said he did not have a permanent place to live and declined to give his last name to KCUR. There isn’t much you can do.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/22/1144970060/winter-storm-holiday-travel

Weather-related Auto Accidents in the Great Smokey Spikes: A Montanan Cattleman’s Journey During the First Full Day of Winter

It’s nothing new to Montana, even though this is a worse winter than we have seen in the last few years. We’ve been running cattle for a long time, so we kind of know how to get through stuff like this,” Willemsma said.

Hank said that he’d be working through cold to keep hay out for his animals, because the high temperature was expected to be minus 13 degrees.

Additional reporting by NPR in Chicago, Montana Public Radio’s John Hooks, KCUR’s and Ivy Winfrey in D.C., as well as additional reporting by David Schaper in Chicago.

There were hundreds of miles of road closings and flight postponements, and all modes of travel were being disrupted. Part of the Long Beach branch was temporarily shut down because of flooding on the Long Island Rail Road.

“Christmas is canceled,” said Mick Saunders, a Buffalo, New York, resident who was two hours into blizzard conditions that are expected to last through Sunday morning. All family and friends agreed it was safer this way.

In Ohio four people have died as a result of weather related auto accidents, and several others have been injured according to Gov. Mike DeWine.

The Kansas City Police Department said someone died after losing control of their car on an icy road. “The Dodge went down the embankment, over the cement retaining wall and landed upside down, submerged in Brush Creek,” police said in a statement.

The National Weather Service’s Watch Warning graphic: An analogous storm for Brian Trzeciak at his Hamburg, N.Y., home

“The National Weather Service’s Watch Warning graphic depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” the agency said Thursday.

“I called it a kitchen sink storm because it is throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink,” Hochul said at a press conference Friday afternoon. Mother Nature had a lot to do with the ice, flooding, snow, and freezing temperatures we have had this weekend.

For Brian Trzeciak, the storm was “living up to the warnings” at his home in Hamburg, New York. The zero visibility at the airport was reported shortly after noon on Friday.

His mother and sister’s family live 30 minutes away, in the other direction. We always get together for the Christmas season but we are stuck in our houses until Monday.

More than 700 flights were canceled in the US on Wednesday. Among those, Minneapolis tallied more than 300 arriving and departing flight cancellations and Denver had nearly 200 cancellations.

Weather Extremes in Oregon, Washington and Los Angeles, the NWS, and New Year’s Eve Flood Warnings for the Southern Hemisphere

Some areas will have both extremes. After warming up to nearly 80 degrees on Thursday, the Washington, D.C., region will fall below freezing late Friday, with snow and rain likely on Saturday, the NWS says. Many places also will see strong winds.

The ice caused the closure of runways at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where nearly half of flights going into and out of the airport were canceled, according to FlightAware. Further, all express services for Sound Transit, a regional transportation network in the Seattle metro area, were suspended Friday due to the icy conditions.

Colin Bourgeois, an arboriculturalist told CNN that trees weakened by weather extremes might be knocked over by strong winds in Portland.

The heat domes that occur during the dry summers damage trees and take up a lot of the energy they need in order to fight off diseases.

The previous record for Portland was 1.08 inches set on December 26, 1996. Monday was the third rainiest day of the year.

The western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, along with the coastal areas of southern Oregon and Los Angeles County are some of the places which are at greatest risk for flash-flooding.

“Say goodbye to the warmth,” the National Weather Service in Los Angeles tweeted Monday. “Big drop in temperatures on track between today and tomorrow (Tuesday). Expect 15-20 degrees of cooling thanks to the approaching storm system.”

A system that left thousands in Oregon without power and another that shut down an interstate in Colorado will sweep through the East on Friday and Saturday. Thunderstorms will hit the South on Friday and then reach the Northeast as rain showers Saturday.

That means New Year’s Eve celebrations Saturday will likely be dampened in New York City and Washington, DC. Los Angeles, too, is expected to ring in a soggy new year.

A flood watch was in effect across much of Northern California through New Year’s Eve. Residents were urged to prepare for the possible overflow of rivers and streams.

“The slight risk area mostly highlights places that are already high in soil moisture, burn scars and urban areas,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

Interstate-70 in Colorado reopened Thursday after a nine-hour closure caused by snow and heavy rains on New Year’s Eve

An eastbound stretch of Interstate-70 in Colorado reopened Thursday after a nine-hour closure left drivers stranded amid bouts of heavy mountain snow, widespread rain and gusty winds.

Dangerous conditions Tuesday in Oregon left five people dead, including a 4-year-old girl, after severe weather caused trees to fall on passing vehicles, state police said.

The north side of Highway 49 and the east side of Highway 70 were both closed because of flooding. In El Dorado County, east of Sacramento, a stretch of Highway 50 was closed because of flooding.

Rainfall in downtown San Francisco hit 5.46 inches (13.87 cm) on New Year’s Eve, making it the second-wettest day on record, behind a November 1994 deluge, the National Weather Service said. Videos on Twitter showed mud-colored water streaming along San Francisco streets, and a staircase in Oakland turned into a veritable waterfall by heavy rains.

The section of U.S. 101 south of San Francisco was closed because of flooding, according to the California Highway Patrol. Videos on Twitter showed mud-colored water streaming along San Francisco streets, and a staircase in Oakland turned into a veritable waterfall by heavy rains.

Weather service meteorologist Courtney Carpenter said the storm could drop over an inch of rain in the Sacramento area before moving south. One ski resort south of Lake Tahoe closed chair lifts because of flooding and operational problems, and posted a photo on Twitter showing one lift tower and its empty chairs surrounded by water.

The map shows a wide range of precipitation, from less than an inch in some parts of the region to over 5 inches in the Sierra foothills.

Californian Hurricane Sandy on December 20 Caused by the Eel River Flood: Emergency Crews, Highways, Bridges, and Pedestrians

The police department in the city posted photos of a flooded railroad underpass and a car that was stuck in the water.

LOS ANGELES — California was drying out and digging out on New Year’s Day after a powerful storm brought drenching rain or heavy snowfall to much of the state, snarling traffic and closing major highways.

According to the National Weather Service, the earthquake that struck on December 20 caused roads in the county to flood. If the Eel River gets too high, a bridge that was temporarily closed due to earthquake damage may reopen.

The next storms come on the heels of a powerful cyclone which flooded roads, toppled trees and knocked out power to most across California. A storm system on New Year’s weekend created flooding.

“Strong winds could cause tree damage and lead to power outages and high waves on Lake Tahoe may capsize small vessels,” the weather service in Reno said.

Flood warnings and watches were issued into the weekend north and south of Reno, Nevada, in case minor to moderate flooding occurred along some rivers and streams.

Dozens of drivers were rescued on New Year’s Eve along Interstate 80 near Lake Tahoe after cars spun out in the snow, the California Department of Transportation said. Vehicles with chains can again travel to the mountains from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Several people were taken out of flooded cars in Southern California. No major injuries were reported.

California flood warning on the first day of the Rose Parade. State Highway Patrol Smells as the First Detector of Snow in Pasadena

With the region drying out on New Year’s Day and no rainfall expected during Monday’s Rose Parade in Pasadena, spectators began staking out their spots for the annual floral spectacle.

The police department in the northern state of California said that a 19-year-old woman died when she crashed her car into a utility pole on a partially flooded road. The driver hit “a patch of standing water and hydroplaned, losing control of the vehicle, before colliding into a utility pole,” police explained.

A young child was killed when a tree fell on a home in Sonoma County in Northern California.

The emergency management director in San Francisco said that some saw flooding, mud slides and sinkholes as of Wednesday evening.

“Nearly (the) entire population of California will be able to see snow from some vantage point later this week if they look in the right direction,” according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Snow remains very unlikely in California’s major cities, but it’ll fall quite nearby.”

When the ground is so saturated from record precipitation earlier this week and the new rain expected this weekend, some damage can be done by a 40 mph wind.

The additional rain on the already saturated soils will make flooding worse in much of the state. The risk of rock slides and mud slides will continue to increase in the state.

The rainfall over the weekend will bring renewed concerns for local streams, creeks, and rivers. The Colgan Creek, Berryessa Creek, Mark West Creek, Green Valley Creek, and the Cosumnes River all have gauges either currently above flood stage or expected to be in the next few days.

El Nio and La Nia Forecast Patterns as Diagnostics of the Seasonal Changes in the Pacific Northwest and Implications for Winter Weather Forecasts

El Niño and La Niña forecast patterns put out by the Climate Prediction Center give guidelines on what the overall forecast can be during a seasonal time period.

“During a La Niña, typically the Pacific Northwest sees wetter than normal conditions and Southern California sees drier than normal conditions,” Marybeth Arcodia, a postdoctoral researcher at Colorado State University said. The jet stream is being pushed northward and has a wavier pattern. “

When it comes to forming atmospheric rivers, El Nios and La Nias can be considered the winter months, Arcodia said.

Michael Tippett, a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, points out that the forecast patterns are not meant to be used on a day-to-day forecast scale but rather the entire season as a whole. This is why researching the patterns is so important.

Tippett told CNN that there is a randomness that isn’t explained by the patterns. “This might help us understand why one year is different than the other.”

State climatologist Michael Anderson told a news briefing late Saturday that officials were closely monitoring Monday’s incoming storm and another behind it and were keeping an eye on three other systems farther out in the Pacific.

The ice storm stretching from Texas to Tennessee will continue through at least Thursday morning, with the National Weather Service expecting ice to cause travel problems and cause scattered power outages.

There were road conditions that were making driving dangerous in parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas, and at least one accident was reported. The governor activated the Arkansas National Guard’s winter weather support teams.

Accidents have been reported on icy and snowy roads in the state. At least one person died in an accident when the Austin fire department saw a spike in multiple-car pile-ups.

“As we mobilize the resources Texans need to stay safe, I encourage everyone to remain weather-aware, check DriveTexas.org before traveling, and heed the guidance from local officials,” Abbott said in a statement.

Multiple Snowfalls and High Temperature Events in the Cascade Mountains, Northern California, and Upper Midwest, as predicted by the National Weather Service

Additionally, many schools and colleges in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas were planning to shut down or switch to online learning Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

The Cascade Mountains could see as much as three feet of snow in the highest elevations through Tuesday, while winds in the Pacific Northwest have the potential to gust up to 60 mph. Seas just offshore will be as high as 20 feet, bringing large, breaking waves to coastal areas, causing beach erosion.

“This amount of snow will result in the passes needing to be closed for a period of time which will impact traffic getting to and from Los Angeles,” The National Weather Service office in Hanford, California said.

Blizzard warnings are in place for southern Wyoming, where nearly two feet of snow and winds gusting more than 70 mph will create blinding conditions. The wind chills are reported to be 25 degrees below zero.

From Tuesday to Friday, more than 130 cities could set new daily high temperature records and some could even set new monthly records, including Atlanta, Orlando, Birmingham, Charlotte and Richmond.

The National Weather Service predicted that temperatures will hit record highs and lows this week, and a huge winter storm will strike a large portion of the country.

Many forecasters are using the term “anomaly” to describe the weather pattern, due to the cold and warmth that people will experience.

In the East, people living in areas ahead of the storm can be forgiven for wondering if winter is already over, as they watch early blooms emerge. The temperature on Monday is expected to be between 10 and 20 degrees warmer than normal.

As temperatures in Southern California might not rise above 50 degrees, parts of the Southeast and mid-Atlantic are expected to see highs in the 70s and 80s on Wednesday.

As part of the same system, rain and thunderstorms are forecast across the Midwest and Plains late Tuesday night into Wednesday, the prediction center said. Heavy precipitation and severe storms will begin Wednesday in the Upper Midwest.

South Dakota Gov. Edinbur Rahmo announced closures of executive branch offices and campus offices in preparation for heavy storms on Wednesday night

Cities across the Florida peninsula could reach the 90s on Thursday as temperatures start to climb well into the 70s and 80s. These temperatures are running 20 to 35 degrees above normal and are typically highs seen in May or early June.

The National Guard, transportation department and the state patrol were instructed to be prepared to respond to storm impacts by the governor.

South Dakota’s governor announced Tuesday the closures of state government executive branch offices Wednesday in more than half of the state’s 66 counties, with plans for employees to work remotely. In the middle of Tuesday night, I-93 and I-29) partially closed to prepare for the snow.

The main campus of Eastern Wyoming College is closing. The virtual learning day was planned by the Natrona County school district because of the hazardous weather and road conditions.

Residents of Northern states in the U.S. are starting to hunker down as heavy snow and high winds are predicted to create whiteout conditions on Wednesday.

Schools across Minnesota announced closures as the state’s governor said on Twitter he would direct the state’s National Guard, transportation department and state patrol to be ready to respond.

The NWS said that highs in the 80s are predicted in Virginia, but single digit lows are expected in northern Maine.

Search and rescue operations were underway Wednesday evening in several counties across Wyoming to recover motorists that become trapped in heavy snow, the state highway patrol said.

In Minnesota, swaths of which saw 3-7 inches with locally higher amounts as of early Thursday, more than 160 vehicle crashes were reported and dozens of cars spun off roads Wednesday, Minnesota State Patrol spokesperson Lt. Gordon Shank said in a series of posts.

The Evers-Mumford-Wisconsch Air Showers: Weather and State Energy Emergency Warnings for Los Angeles and Ventura Counties

In Wisconsin – similarly hit by snow since Tuesday in the north and freezing rain Wednesday in the south – Gov. Tony Evers declared a statewide energy emergency Wednesday, saying it will “allow for a more swift and efficient restoration of any electric power outages throughout the state,” a news release from his office said.

Los Angeles and Ventura Counties will be under a blizzard warning starting Friday morning and lasting through Saturday afternoon, the weather said. That will be the first blizzard warning issued by the weather service’s Los Angeles office since 1989, it said.

The dueling winter storm and southern heat wave created a stark 100-degree temperature difference between the Northern Rockies and the South earlier this week.

The international airport in Green Bay canceled most of its flights Thursday morning due to the Wisconsin airport being closed.

• Maine government offices closed: Gov. Janet Mills announced that state offices would be closed Thursday as the storm “is expected to bring significant snowfall to most of the state,” her office said in a release.

Atlanta was 81 degrees on Wednesday, an all-time record in February. On Wednesday, Washington, D.C., reached a temperature of 81 degrees, New Orleans was 83 degrees, and Nashville was 80 degrees.