Winter storm Iola is likely to cause heavy snowfall in the Southern plains and Southern Rockies from Thursday through the weekend. Winter storm warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service covering an area of 173,746 square miles including areas of Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
The winter storm Iola formed in parts of Colorado and Mexico on Tuesday. It further moved towards the Texas panhandle on Wednesday. The storm will now shift southwards and affect Western Texas as well as South East New Mexico. As it moves southwards, precipitation will be more in the form of rain than ice.
The rain belt will continue moving eastwards into the Central Gulf Coast states. The forecast includes warning for snow packed and icy roadways, starting Thursday night. Meanwhile, another low pressure has been formed in South Texas, which will increase the rainfall activity over the lower Mississippi Valley and Eastern Texas.
Some snow is expected in areas of Arkansas to Middle Tennessee, Kentucky and Southern Appalachians. Heavy rain is expected in the Gulf Coast with amount ranging between 25 – 50 mm. Iola has caused a significant amount of snowfall with Amarillo observing snowfall at the rate of 3 inches per hour.
Significant snowfall was witnessed in southern parts of the United States. Some of these places include Edgewood in New Mexico, where 16 inches of snow was recorded. 13 inches of snow was observed in Canyon, Texas. While 8 inches of snow in Amarillo and 11.5 inches of snow in Colorado Springs were also reported.
