Updates as flights delayed, snow slams West

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A brutal winter storm packing wind gusts of up to 80 mph was marching toward the nation’s interior Monday, threatening to pound a swath of the nation with snow measured in feet.

Almost 15 million people in more than a dozen states faced foul weather warnings or watches Monday. Blizzard or winter storm warnings were in effect for parts of Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska.

“This system will then stall across the central Plains into Thursday, producing several days of heavy snow and blowing snow, including blizzard conditions, and freezing rain extending into the Upper Midwest,” the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center said in its advisory. “Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flooding will be possible in the South.”

Pockets of those states could see 2 feet of snow, the center said. The weather service in Colorado said the storm would arrive late Monday and last through Tuesday, likely bringing “whiteout conditions” and road closures.

By Monday night, snow had started to fall over the northern mountains in Colorado causing roadways to be icy and snow packed, the weather service in Colorado said.

“Heavy snow will likely accumulate to more than 1 foot in some areas, which combined with strong winds will produce nearly impossible travel,” the prediction center warned.

The storm was taking aim for the nation’s heartland after smashing parts of Southern California with more than 7 inches of rain and blasting the Golden State’s mountains with up to 5 feet of snow. More than 6,000 U.S. flights were delayed Sunday, and more than 4,500 had been delayed by Monday night, according to FlightAware.com.

AccuWeather forecasters say over a foot of snow, strong winds and blizzard conditions are expected in the northern Plains to start this week before potentially dumping substantial amounts of snow across a wider swath of the Midwest.

The National Weather Service defines a blizzard as “blowing and/or falling snow with winds of at least 35 mph, reducing visibilities to a quarter of a mile or less” for at least three hours.

Two weeks of ‘bitterly’ cold temperatures across the country

The storm prediction center also warned that “bitterly” cold temperatures are likely to impact the lower 48 states leading up to and continuing from Dec. 20 and Dec. 26.

The northern Rocky Mountains and northern plains will possibly see temperatures in the negative teens with sub-zero temperatures reaching the Central Plains, according to the center.

Regions in the south and east, including the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic states, and the Northeast are predicted to have temperatures reach single digits and teens, the center said. Below-freezing temperatures are also expected in the Southern Plains, and Southeast.