By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist
December 13,2014; 12:00AM,EST
While the storm that blasted California will weaken, locally heavy snow will push inland over the West this weekend, reaching Denver.
For most of the Intermountain West, the storm will not pack intense winds it had for the Pacific coast, Sierra Nevada and Cascades. However, it will cause travel disruptions due to areas of heavy rain and lowering snow levels.
Following an initial surge of warmth, the storm will be a boost for some of the ski resorts in the region.
The storm will spread drenching rain with very high-elevation snow across Nevada, eastern Washington and Oregon and Idaho during the first part of the weekend.
Enough rain could fall on parts of the Great Basin to cause flash and urban flooding. Motorists should be prepared for sporadic travel delays due to poor drainage area flooding from Las Vegas to Boise, Idaho, into Saturday .
During Saturday, mountain rain and fog with desert showers will spread over Arizona, including in Phoenix and Flagstaff.
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As colder air settles in, valley rain will turn to snow in some locations, such as in Elko, Nevada, and Salt Lake City.
A foot or more of snow is likely in the Wasatch Mountains Saturday into Saturday night. Similar snowfall will spread into the Colorado and Wyoming Rockies as the weekend progresses.
Travel over the passes along I-90 in western Montana, I-80 in Wyoming and I-70 in Colorado and eastern Utah may be difficult due to heavy snow, slippery roads, strong winds and poor visibility on Saturday night and Sunday. Motorists traveling cross-country may want to take a warmer, more southern route, such as I-40 through New Mexico and Arizona.
Depending on the track of the storm, Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado, may receive several inches of snow during late Saturday night and Sunday. A track just south of these locations would bring the heaviest snow, while a track farther north would bring little to no snow accumulation.
As the storm rolls out into warm, moist air over parts of Texas and the southern Plains on Sunday, strong to locally severe thunderstorms may develop.
While parts of the southern Plains turn thundery, just enough cold air will be present farther north for snow top fall early next week over parts of the central and and northern Plains to the Upper Midwest.
AccuWeather.com will continue to provide updates on the storm as it pushes inland over the West through this weekend.
Following the storm and chilly trend this weekend, the pattern of mild Pacific air will resume, but with unsettled conditions at times in general for the West and at least two more drenching storms for California.
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