Major Winter Storm Brewing For Southwestern U.S.

Looks like it’s going to be a white Christmas…but not for us in the Northeast! An early season winter storm is brewing and is expected to bring blizzard conditions and heavy snow accumulations of over a foot to the Southwest on Monday. More details after the jump…


(CNN)–The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning on Sunday for the northwest Texas Oklahoma panhandles, southeastern Colorado and southwestern Kansas, where up to two feet of snow is expected to fall Monday in some spots.

In Texas and Oklahoma, a foot to 16 inches of snow could fall in the panhandle regions, the Weather Service said. Winds of 25 to 45 mph will accompany the heavy snow, gusting up to 50 mph and potentially resulting in near-zero visibility on Monday afternoon, according to forecasters.

In Amarillo, Texas, no flights have yet been canceled for the Rick Hudson Amarillo International Airport, said Patrick Rhodes, director of aviation.

A planning meeting was held Sunday, he said. “We’re on the dividing line between 3 inches and 9 inches (of snow),” he said. Residents were told to expect rain overnight that will switch to snow Monday afternoon.

The airport can run up to six snow plows, he said. “We’ve had this sort of event before.” About 1,000 to 1,200 travelers pass through the airport daily, with up to 36 flights, he said.

Blowing snow may also reduce visibility in southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado. In Kansas, up to a foot of snow is forecast along with winds of 25 to 30 mph, gusting to 45 mph. In Colorado, where up to two feet of snow is anticipated, winds are expected to be 20 to 30 mph winds and gusting to 40 mph at times.

“Life-threatening winter weather conditions are expected,” the National Weather Service said.

A blizzard watch was also in effect for eastern New Mexico, where as much as 8 inches of snow, combined with 45-mph wind gusts, will likely cause whiteout conditions across the region on Monday. A tweet from the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management warned residents the storm is expected to begin affecting the state near midnight Sunday, and advised them to avoid unnecessary travel.

Winter storm watches and warnings were also issued for much of New Mexico, extreme northwestern Oklahoma, southeastern Colorado and southwestern and south-central Kansas.

Snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches and winds gusting up to 40 mph will reduce visibilities to less than a quarter of a mile at times, forecasters said.

The heaviest snowfall and strongest winds are expected Monday morning through Monday night and into the early morning hours of Tuesday, the weather service said.