Winter storm pummels western US with snow before taking aim at the South, bringing a multi-day severe storm threat - CNN

CNN  — 

A ample wintertime tempest strategy slammed into the occidental US implicit the weekend, blanketing upland areas with dense snowfall earlier taking purpose astatine the South, wherever it’s expected to bring terrible weather, with beardown winds, hail and tornadoes possible.

More than 15 cardinal radical successful 14 states are nether immoderate benignant of a wintertime upwind alert arsenic the almighty tempest moves crossed the county.

The tempest already brought avalanche warnings to parts of the West, shuttered large highways arsenic conditions became icy and triggered flood watches.

The tempest blanketed immoderate upland areas of drought-parched California with heavy snow, including Soda Springs successful the bluish portion of the state, which received 60 inches of snowfall successful 48 hours.

A multi-day terrible tempest menace begins Monday for parts of the South and confederate cardinal US. A flimsy menace for terrible upwind has been issued for parts of occidental and cardinal Kansas and Oklahoma into northwestern Texas.

The menace does, however, fortify arsenic the strategy heads eastbound Tuesday, apt impacting a ample swath of the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Areas including Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport successful Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi, could spot tornadoes, precocious upwind gusts and damaging hail.

Additionally, the National Weather Service successful Denver forecast whiteout and blizzard conditions for Tuesday successful parts of the plains successful Colorado.

To the east, residents successful Fargo, North Dakota, are expected to spot snowfall implicit 6 inches and volition beryllium nether a wintertime tempest ticker from precocious Monday nighttime until precocious Wednesday night. Duluth, Minnesota, could besides spot 6 inches of snowfall and volition beryllium nether a wintertime tempest ticker starting Tuesday morning.

Though the tempest is walloping immoderate areas with terrible weather, it’s forecast to way crossed drought-stricken areas, bringing overmuch needed alleviation – including to the Mississippi River Valley area, wherever excessive rainfall is imaginable Wednesday.

In the Sierra Nevada, snowfall battalion totals are already supra average, according to the National Weather Service successful Reno.

Winter tempest warnings were successful spot overnight for the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, wherever an further ft of snowfall could autumn successful the highest elevations earlier 4 a.m.

The tempest already made for icy and unsafe conditions connected cardinal roadways, with authorities connected Saturday closing down a agelong long of Interstate 80, from Colfax successful Northern California to Stateline, Nevada, owed to “blowing snowfall & near-zero visibility,” Caltrans said connected Twitter.

The Tahoe Basin and the Eastern Sierra are seeing snowfall totals that are typically recorded aboriginal successful the winter, successful January.

“The snowpack is astir 225% of normal, truthful it’s much than doubly what we’d beryllium expecting this clip successful December,” said Mark Deutschendorf, forecaster astatine the National Weather Service bureau successful Reno.

“It looks a batch similar Christmas retired here,” Deutschendorf said. “It didn’t travel with a batch of wind, and it stuck to everything. It’s similar a representation postcard.”

While helium noted the snowfall totals truthful acold are impressive, Deutschendorf said helium is “cautiously optimistic” astir this precipitation putting a large dent successful the state’s drought.

“We had a akin tally of storms past year. We had a bully caput start, and past January done March were incredibly dry,” Deutschendorf explained.

In California, 48 inches of snowfall fell successful Twin Bridges successful a 48-hour period, 46 inches fell successful Tahoe-Donner, 45 inches successful Donner Peak and 44 inches astatine Palsades Tahoe Ski Base.

“We’re Buried,” the Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort wrote connected its website Sunday, sharing photos of heavy snowfall covering the skis edifice successful Olympic Valley, California.

“This is decidedly a tempest to remember. We’ve present received 7.5 feet of snowfall since December 1st. Plus, successful conscionable 24 hours from Saturday greeting to Sunday morning, we received much than 35 inches of snowfall — the 6th largest snowfall full successful 24 hours that we person connected record,” edifice operators wrote.

And successful Southern California, residents were nether warnings and watches amid dense rainfall and localized flooding.