BOISE, Idaho — A major winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow from the West Coast to the Northeast through Thursday, the National Weather Service warned on Tuesday.
Parts of Idaho and nearly all of Utah were under winter storm warnings Tuesday. In the populous Treasure Valley, which includes parts of southwest Idaho and eastern Oregon, wind advisories are in effect through 5 p.m. MST Tuesday for the upper Treasure Valley and Malheur County; a similar wind advisory is also posted for the western Magic Valley, including Jerome and Twin Falls. There's a 30% chance of snow showers Wednesday and Thursday in the Treasure Valley. If the snow falls, it will stick, but accumulations in the valley are expected to be about an inch.
Winter storm warnings are in effect until at least 5 p.m. Tuesday for the Boise Mountains and West-Central Mountains, and a winter weather advisory is in effect for the Owyhee Mountains. A winter storm warning for the Lower Hells Canyon/Salmon River Region is posted from 5 p.m. Tuesday through 9 a.m. Wednesday.
In eastern Idaho, Idaho State Police reported blowing, drifing snow and posted a picture showing white-out conditions on Idaho highway 33 near Tetonia. Travelers are advised to check road and weather conditions on Idaho 511 before heading out.
Most of southeastern Idaho and nearly all of Utah are under winter storm warnings, the NWS/NOAA Storm Prediction Center indicates.
Elsewhere in the Northwest, temperatures ranging from lows in the single-digits to highs in the mid 20s are expected for eastern Washington and northern Idaho through Friday, with snowfall ranging from one to four inches in lower elevations, and "extreme snow" in the mountain passes.
Strong winds knocked out power Monday to thousands of people in western Washington's Puget Sound region. KTVB's Seattle sister station, KING, reported heavy snow was expected to pile up into Tuesday afternoon in the Cascade Mountains, including in the heavily traveled Snoqualmie and Stevens passes. Strong wind gusts are also affecting those areas.
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The NWS says several weather systems will "stretch impacts from coast to coast. Heavy snow to low elevations in the West will extend across the Intermountain West to the Great Lakes." The NWS also advises of strong, gusty winds across the West and "critical fire weather threats" in the Texas Panhandle north to southwestern Kansas. The Midwest and Plains may experience flash flooding and other severe weather Wednesday.
The Associated Press reports a "monster" winter storm threatens the Upper Midwest with blizzard conditions, bitterly cold temperatures and two feet of snow Tuesday through Thursday in parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. The wind might hit 50 mph in some places.
The weather service said the blizzard will actually involve two rounds. For the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, the first blast arrives Wednesday afternoon with up to 7 inches of snow. Round two starts later Wednesday and extends into Thursday, “with an additional 10 to 20 inches expected.”
Because of the storm expected to hit the region, several airlines are issuing travel waivers at Minneapolis-St. Paul and other airports in the Midwest.
Nationally, for air travelers, FlightAware showed 271 flight cancellations within, into or out of airports in the U.S. for Tuesday as of 1:20 p.m. MST. The U.S. airports most affected include Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), Salt Lake City and Denver. All three of those cities have direct flights to and from the Boise Airport, which indicated flights scheduled to arrive Tuesday afternoon from MSP and Denver were delayed. People with travel plans should check with the specific airlines on their flight status.
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