A map of estimated snow depths across the contiguous U.S. shows the impact multiple winter storms are having, with the heaviest snowfall across mountain ranges in the West.
The model, produced by the National Weather Service (NWS) on Monday, suggests that, as of 1 a.m. ET on Tuesday, between 4 and 8 inches were expected to have fallen across parts of the East Coast. There has been as much as 20 inches across the central Midwest and up to 100 inches along parts of the Cascades mountain range in Washington.
The meteorology agency previously predicted the U.S. would be hit by several storm fronts this week, with heavy rain bringing the threat of flooding along the East Coast from northern Florida to Maine on Tuesday.
The NWS said a snowstorm would develop over the central and southern Plains on Monday morning, before moving into the Midwest into Tuesday.
Up to 2 inches an hour of snow accumulation and a "ferocious blizzard" with winds of up to 70 miles an hour from New Mexico to Nebraska were predicted to make travel "extremely dangerous to impossible" in the region.
The map shows that, as of Tuesday morning, in parts of central Utah and Colorado, northern New Mexico and northwest Wyoming, up to 30 inches of snow may have accumulated. From the Oklahoma panhandle through Kansas and Nebraska, and into southeast South Dakota, up to 20 inches will have fallen, with locally higher amounts possible.
The NWS said in its latest forecast that further mountain snow and valley rain was expected across Arizona and New Mexico by Wednesday night.
On Monday night, a powerful atmospheric river storm made landfall from the Pacific in the northwest, bathing Washington and Oregon in several feet of snow and bringing the possibility of blizzard conditions. Another is expected to arrive in the region on Tuesday.
The NWS map shows the Cascades is so far the area with the greatest snow accumulation. The weather agency said the storms would bring snow across the northern Rockies, though in lower amounts.
Western states have already faced several bouts of snowfall so far this winter, having been subjected to a prolific series of atmospheric river storms. Last winter, the West Coast experienced the effects of a similar weather front, with California seeing several rounds of flooding.
While the East Coast is expected to be hit with an intense storm system on Tuesday, conditions are expected to improve on Wednesday. However, snow showers for the western Great Lakes and eastern Ohio Valley remain possible as cold air continues to channel southwards from Canada.
The region has already seen some lake-effect snow this winter, and recently faced another bout of snow brought on by an Alberta Clipper system moving down from Canada.
The NWS map suggests much of Illinois has been carpeted with up to 8 inches of snow, while similar amounts have fallen over southern New England, including most of New York.
About the writer
Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more
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