Winter storm Quid gives heavy snowfall in West, 4 killed
Winter Storm Quid pushed into the intermountain West on Thursday. Four deaths were reported in the region. In fact, officials were forced to close some roads.
It did not take long for snow to pile up in parts of Wyoming and Idaho. About a half-foot of snow fell in some areas overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning.
The winter storm is now expected to move into the Northern Plains and Midwest United States as the week ends. Some parts are anticipated to record their biggest snow totals of the season.
Before moving east, the winter storm Quid dumped inches of snow over the higher reaches of Northern California and Nevada around Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Travel was extremely affected due to heavy snowfall. Moreover, at least 24,000 Xcel Energy customers were without power. Outages affected parts of Sterling, Wellington, Eaton and Fort Collins.
Heavy snow in southern Idaho forced some schools to shut on Thursday.
During the Thursday morning commute, authorities responded to more than 50 weather-related crashes in Salt Lake, Weber and Utah counties.
A snowstorm is expected by late this week from the Rockies to the Plains and Midwest. It is likely to bring a swath of heavy snow along with strong winds.
Currently, most parts of the region are witnessing a warm spell. The warmth has tied all-time record highs for the month of February.
An upper air level energy will spawn an area of surface low pressure in the central Plains by early Thursday, which will track in the direction of the Great Lakes through Friday.
On the northwest side of where Quid tracks is expected to accumulating snow. Strong winds may lead to blowing and drifting of snow, resulting in poor travel conditions.
The exact track of the low will determine where the most significant snow is likely to fall along the storm's path.
In fact, winter storm warnings have been issued for parts of the Northern Plains including Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nebraska and South Dakota; and Upper Midwest. Travel in these areas is expected to be dangerous on Thursday and Friday.
Some snow or freezing rain may even reach as far east as northern New England late Friday or Saturday, but the rest of the Eastern part will witness rain and even thunderstorms.
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