At least five million people near the Rockies were under a winter storm warning on Wednesday morning as the largest snowstorm of the year is moving toward Denver, and another 60 million are at risk of severe weather through Friday because of the same system.
The National Weather Service warned of eight to 20 inches of snow in the Denver metro area starting ... [+]
The National Weather Service is warning of eight to 20 inches of snow around the greater Denver-Boulder area tonight through Thursday night, up to four feet of snow around the Front Range mountains, potential scattered power outages and “difficult to nearly impossible travel.”
Missouri and Kansas are facing severe weather threats Wednesday of powerful wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes with wind gusts around 65 mph, AccuWeather reported, adding the hail could reach “baseball or softball size.”
The Southern Plains are facing a different kind of threat Wednesday as the National Weather Service warns of critical and extremely critical fire conditions from the Texas Panhandle to Oklahoma and New Mexico as very strong winds and low humidity hit the area.
Texas is already dealing with wildfires as it seeks to contain the Smokehouse Creek Fire that broke out at the end of February and spread to hit more than one million acres in the Panhandle. As of Tuesday, the fire was 89% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Last week, Xcel Energy admitted its equipment was likely “involved in an ignition” of the fire, which is now the largest wildfire in Texas history.
7.5. That’s how many inches of snow Denver’s biggest snow storm of this season back in October brought, AccuWeather reported. If this week’s snowfall hits double digits in Denver, it would be the largest storm in three years, according to multiple outlets.
How the winter storm in Colorado impacts flights. As of early Wednesday afternoon, Denver International Airport had seen few cancellations or delays—just 4% of Denver’s outgoing flights had been delayed and 3% of incoming flights were delayed, according to FlightAware—though the peak of the storm isn’t expected until tomorrow.