Rockies, Midwest Snowstorm for Halloween Week?

By: By Jon Erdman

Published: October 24,2013

 

 

 

 

 

This has already been a rather eventful October as far as winter storms are concerned.
First, Winter Storm Atlas buried parts of the northern High Plains of the western Dakotas, Wyoming and western Nebraska with heavy, wet snow crippling travel and snapping trees and powerlines.
(MORE: Atlas Recap | Thousands of Cattle Killed)
Then, this week, several locations from International Falls, Minn. to near Dayton, Ohio picked up their first measurable snow of the season.
(MORE: October's Increasingly Snowy Reputation)
Now, the last week of October holds the possibility of generating another winter storm. Let's detail what we know now regarding this potential.

Monday's Forecast

• MONDAY'S HIGHS

Tuesday's Forecast

• TUESDAY'S HIGHS

Rockies First

Sunday into Monday, an Arctic cold front will plunge southward from the Canadian Rockies and Prairies into the northern Rockies and Plains.
Accompanied by a vigorous upper-level shortwave trough eventually closing off into an upper low over the Great Basin, snow, possibly heavy, will spread into the northern Rockies and northern High Plains Monday.
Strong north to northeast winds behind the front may lead to blizzard conditions in parts of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and parts of the western Dakotas Monday.
By Tuesday, the snow may spread south into parts of Utah, Colorado and northeast Nevada, and may continue in parts of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and the Dakotas as the cold front continues to slide southward.
(FORECASTS: Rapid City | Casper | Denver)

Will the Snow Spread Elsewhere?

What remains very uncertain this far out in time is if and how much snow can spread farther east into the Upper Midwest.
There is a potential of at least some wet snow to spread farther east into parts of the eastern Dakotas, Nebraska, northern Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Michigan from Tuesday through Halloween. Right now, it does not appear to be a heavy snow event in these areas, nothing remotely reminiscent of the infamous Halloween 1991 blizzard.
This storm also has the potential to dump heavy snow over the mountains of Utah and Colorado Tuesday through Thursday, with some snow also possible in higher elevations of the Four Corners region.
Some significant snow may also manage to accumulate along parts of the Front Range of Colorado, particularly in the foothills and Palmer Divide mid-late next week.
(MORE: Winter Weather Expert Tom Niziol's Analysis)
Check back with us at weather.com and The Weather Channel for the latest on this potential winter storm.
MORE:  A Snowy Start to 2013-2014 Season (INFOGRAPHIC)

Snowfall through oct. 23

Photo taken Oct. 6, 2013 in Rapid City, S.D. after Winter Storm Atlas (iWitnessWeather)