Colorado to Iowa, Michigan face blizzard Monday into Groundhog Day

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

January 31,2016; 11:24PM,EST

 

 

Snow and slippery travel over the central United States will evolve into dangerous blizzard conditions to start February, including Groundhog Day.
A storm will strengthen and gather snow and wind as it tracks across the Southwest states into Monday to the central Plains and Upper Midwest during Monday night into Tuesday night.
The storm will put down snow along a 1,600-mile swath in the U.S. from Flagstaff, Arizona, to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun, "A swath of 6- to 12-inch snowfall with areas of 12-18 inches are expected from parts of Arizona, northern New Mexico, Utah and Colorado to portions of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, northern Michigan and southern Minnesota."
According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Becky Elliott, "Blizzard conditions will develop as the storm strengthens, so residents should keep that in mind as they make preparations over the weekend."
At the height of the storm, winds can gust to 50 mph with the potential for power outages.
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AccuWeather winter weather center
This is the type of storm that has the potential to shut down major highways. Snow of varying intensity and blowing and drifting snow with poor visibility will impact portions of interstates 25, 29, 35, 40, 70, 80, 90 and 94.
Even where sleet and rain mix in with the snow, travel can be difficult and very slippery.
There is also the potential for a number of airline delays and flight cancellations from Denver to Omaha, Nebraska, Minneapolis and Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The winter storm will arrive in parts of Iowa during Monday evening, where the caucuses for the 2016 Presidential Election will take place.

Iowans prepare for caucuses and blizzard

Even though most of the snow will stay north and west of Chicago, enough wind and rain can occur and cause some airline disruptions at O'Hare International Airport, as well as General Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The northwestern edge of the snowstorm will graze Minneapolis.
Wind and rain could cause delays around Detroit.
"The threat for snow will begin along portions of the Front Range from New Mexico to Colorado and Wyoming by Monday morning," Elliott said.
The storm could last 36 hours or more along portions of the Front Range.
Denver could receive its biggest snowfall of the season so far from the long-duration storm early this week. The biggest single-storm snowfall this season was 7.7 inches on Dec. 15. So far during January, only 4.4 inches of snow has fallen.

A combination of surging warmth to the south and east, a charge of cold air to the north and west and strong winds aloft will help to energize the storm.
Temperatures over the middle Mississippi Valley will surge into the 60s F to perhaps near 70, while temperatures plunge into the teens and 20s over parts of the central and northern Plains early this week.
The storm will bring a wide range of weather, including the risk of violent thunderstorms in the storm's warm sector, over the lower Mississippi Valley and Deep South on Groundhog Day.