Multiple storms are bringing big snow to record heat

Millions of people are dealing with active weather this week. Some are facing their biggest snowstorm of the winter, while others are basking in warmth that’s more typical of late spring.

Central and Northeast winter and severe storms

A powerhouse winter storm is blasting the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, with Blizzard Warnings covering parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota. Even where the winds won’t be strong enough to cause blizzard conditions, snowfall will pile up to well over a foot from South Dakota through Wisconsin.

Minneapolis could get 20 inches, putting this among the biggest snowstorms on record there. It looks to be the most snow since at least Dec. 2010, when 17.1 inches fell during the event that collapsed the Metrodome roof. The storm led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights Wednesday morning.

That heavy snow will extend to the Northeast, going into Thursday and Friday. A foot of snow could fall in a stripe from the northern Adirondacks of New York through central Maine.

It’s not just snow that’ll snarl travel. Ice Storm Warnings cover eastern Iowa to southern Michigan, including the northwestern Chicago metro. A quarter-inch to half-inch of ice is possible through Thursday morning.

The National Weather Service in Milwaukee issued its first Ice Storm Warning in five years.

Meanwhile, thunderstorms could turn active in the Middle Mississippi Valley Wednesday afternoon. St. Louis has a slight risk of severe storms, or a level 2 out of 5. Storms could produce damaging winds, and perhaps even a brief tornado or hail.

West Coast mess

The West Coast isn’t getting left out of the active weather. Multiple rounds of rain and snow will buffet that region through the weekend.

Heavy snow in Oregon will shift into California the rest of the week. The Sierras and Southern California mountains ought to see totals top three feet. SoCal’s mountains even have Blizzard Warnings on Friday and Saturday as powerful winds whip up.

In fact, accumulating snow might get as low as hills of just 1,000 feet in elevation in the Los Angeles area. Coasts and valleys will deal with heavy rain and possibly flooding.

Temperature extremes

While some people dig out from big-time snow, others will bask in late-spring warmth. The Ohio Valley and Southeast will be unseasonably mild Wednesday and Thursday to the tune of 15 to 30 degrees above normal.

Record highs will fall both days, but it looks like Thursday will be the record-palooza. It’s not just record highs for Feb. 23 fall by the wayside, such as Washington, D.C.’s 78 degrees that was set in 1874. Record highs for February as a whole might get broken in places like Raleigh, North Carolina.

But if one region is exceptionally warm, it’s often a safe bet that another is quite cold. The entire West and Northern Plains are getting blasted by cold air. Here, too, records are falling–not just for cold morning lows, but for cold afternoon highs, as well.

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