Ag Weather Forum

Although this will not be as strong and will have a smaller impact than the storms earlier in March, another big spring storm is set to move through the middle of the country Tuesday through Thursday, March 18-20. Heavy snow, strong winds, and limited severe weather will move through the country yet again.

The storm is currently hitting the California coast early Monday and areas west of the Rockies will see their own impacts from the storm through Tuesday, including heavy mountain snows and strong winds. But like its predecessors, the bigger impacts are coming as the storm moves out into the Plains on Tuesday. It may not reach "bomb cyclone" status like the one did on March 14 -- called that because of a rapidly intensifying low-pressure center -- but this storm will also deepen rapidly across Kansas before heading northeast through the Midwest on Wednesday and into southeastern Canada on Thursday. The system's cold front will race south through the Plains on Tuesday, across the Mississippi Valley on Wednesday, then across the East Coast for Thursday.

The amount of snow with this system is forecast to cover a much larger area than the last storm and be somewhat similar to a storm that occurred March 4-5 when accumulating snow fell from the Kansas-Nebraska border up through southeastern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Some areas then saw close to a foot of fresh snow. This storm system may do something very similar but include more snow for those in Wyoming and South Dakota, as an early band of snow Tuesday drops measurable amounts ahead of the incoming storm.

The storm's actual snow band will start in the Central Plains across Colorado and the Kansas-Nebraska border area up through southeastern Minnesota and across Wisconsin yet again.

Very heavy snowfall rates are possible with this band of snow. Models are focused on more than 6 inches from eastern Nebraska up through northern Wisconsin, but amounts are going to be tricky. Much of this snow will be from rain changing over to snow, which can lead to drastic differences in amounts over short distances. And the northern edge of the snow band is forecast to be very sharp, meaning some areas that are expecting heavy snow won't get much, while their neighbors just to the south a few miles get clobbered. This is setting up to be a boom-or-bust type of snowfall event.

To make matters worse, the rapidly deepening low-pressure center will produce very strong winds. Widespread areas of at least 40-50 miles per hour look likely from South Dakota down to Texas and then northeast into the Midwest. Some parts of the Southeast and East Coast may feel these strong winds as well behind the cold front, while those in the Plains may see winds gusting again up over 60 mph in some places. The Texas Panhandle, which is recovering from Friday's dust storm that produced wind gusts over 80 mph, blew semi-trailers off highways, and stoked wildfires, will be one area that is of concern yet again.

But where these winds align with the snow, blizzard conditions are looking likely, causing a mess for travelers and possibly causing power outages. That will be most areas along the path of the heaviest snow and mostly during Wednesday.

Severe weather is not as large of a concern with this system, and especially not when compared to the storm that brought an outbreak of dangerous events this weekend. However, severe thunderstorms will still be possible. The front gets enough moisture to start producing thunderstorms in the Mississippi Valley midday Wednesday, which continues into the Midwest and Mid-South in the evening. Damaging winds and hail are the primary threats with this round. That shifts to the Mid-Atlantic area for Thursday with a likely reduced threat.

To find more weather conditions and your local forecast from DTN, head over to https://www.dtnpf.com/…

John Baranick can be reached at john.baranick@dtn.com

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