Season's First Snow Ahead For Some in Upper Midwest, Plains

By: By Jon Erdman

Published: November 4,2013

 

 

 

 

After sweeping through the Pacific Northwest, downing trees and power lines throughout the Seattle metro area this weekend, the instigating jet stream dip will pivot into the Rockies and Plains.
(RECAP: Pacific Northwest High Winds)
Perhaps the most interesting impact will be some additional first accumulating snowfalls of the season for parts of the Plains and Midwest. Let's dive into the forecast details.

Monday

Monday's Forecast

• WEST WINTER ALERTS

Monday, the jet stream dip will remain anchored over the West, generating mainly light to moderate snow over the northern Rockies and Wasatch.
Heavier snowfall will then spread into the Rockies of Colorado Monday night, where locally over a foot of new snow may pile up by Tuesday. If you're looking to hit the slopes for some early-season skiing in Colorado, this is definitely good news!
(MORE: Western radar | Check ski conditions)
Then, a touch of winter spreads into the Plains and Midwest.

Tuesday/Wednesday: Snow Spreads East

Tuesday's Forecast

• WEDNESDAY'S FORECAST

Snowfall Forecast

By Tuesday morning, snow will have already spread out into the Plains of western and northern Nebraska, eastern Wyoming, southern and western South Dakota, and far northeast Colorado, with several inches of accumulation already.
(FORECAST: Rapid City | Cheyenne)
Tuesday afternoon, that shield of snow will continue spreading northeast into parts of eastern South Dakota, far northwest Iowa, Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the western U.P. of Michigan.
Some wet snow may mix in with rain in time for the afternoon and evening commute in Minneapolis/St. Paul, but accumulations are expected to be minimal through the commute. Ground temperatures this early in the season are still running warm, and this will likely limit initial accumulations to grassy areas initially.
The snow may become heavy for some in western and northern Nebraska Tuesday into Tuesday night, and accumulations should become more significant from southern South Dakota eastward Tuesday evening.
(FORECAST: Minneapolis/St. Paul | Sioux Falls, S.D. | North Platte, Neb.)
On Wednesday, some wet snow may persist from the Upper Mississippi Valley into the northern Great Lakes.
As you can see in the snowfall forecast graphic above at right, a swath of five inches or more of snow is expected from western and northern Nebraska into northern Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan.
(VIDEO: Expert Winter Weather Analysis)
For some locations such as Minneapolis/St. Paul and North Platte, Neb., this will be the season's first measurable snowfall. In both locations, the average date of the season's first snowfall is either Nov. 1 or 2, respectively, so this is right on par with climatology.
Some interstates you can expect wintry driving conditions Tuesday and Tuesday night include:

• Interstate 80 from eastern Wyoming into central Nebraska.
• Interstate 29 north of Omaha into eastern South Dakota.
• Interstate 90 from northeast Wyoming into South Dakota and southern Minnesota.
• Interstate 94 from near Eau Claire, Wisc. into central Minnesota.

MORE: Snowflake Closeup Photos

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A snowflake magnified under a microscope. (Credit: Michael Peres)