New Winter Storm Develops Over Central US, Coinciding with Severe Thunderstorms and Fire Weather Conditions [NWS]

A new winter storm developed over the Central United States, coinciding with severe thunderstorms and fire weather conditions across the region, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The latest US weather forecast shows the return of heavy snow and cold temperatures as the winter weather system is developing across the central Rockies as of Wednesday, March 13. It will spread in areas, including the Denver Metro, until Friday, March 15.

The winter system will also expand into the southern Rockies starting Thursday, March 14. The emergence of the storm indicate that the US winter season may not be over. Meanwhile, the weather service is also forecasting extreme critical fire weather over the southern Plains and severe thunderstorms over the central Plains. Aside from heavy snowfall, the Central US could also experience a combination of gusty winds and wildfires.

Central US Weather Forecast

In its Central US weather forecast on Wednesday, the NWS' Weather Prediction Center (WPC) reported that heavy snow will develop over central Colorado from Wednesday evening into Thursday. It will be followed by rain or mountain snow across the Four Corners region to the southern High Plains from Thursday to Friday, the prediction center adds. States around Colorado could also be affected by winter weather conditions.

On the other hand, the WPC says that strong to severe thunderstorms with a slight risk of excessive rainfall is possible from Thursday evening to early Friday from the southern Plains to the Mid-South. The cause of this "unsettled weather" is an upper-level trough hovering into the Western US and gradually pushing the system out of the Pacific Northwest into the Intermountain region, the NWS says.

In the coming days, the looming adverse weather across the Central US could result in regional travel disruption due to reduced visibility, either caused by heavy snow or rainfall. Damaging winds and the occurrence of isolated tornadoes are also possible due to the severe thunderstorms. Although wildfires have been reported in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles over the past weeks, fire weather could also spark new blaze in the Central US.

US Winter Season

As the US winter season is about to end, despite the emergence of the new winter storm, temperatures are expected to get warmer in some parts of the country during the upcoming spring season. Last week, meteorologists from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reported that the current 2023-2024 season is the "warmest winter on record" for the contiguous US.

The NCEI also highlighted eight states across the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast US regions observed their warmest winter on record. This is despite the deep freeze and Arctic blast-driven winter weather across the US reported earlier in 2024. In January, dozens of people died across 10 states in a span of more than a week due to extreme winter conditions, an event also covered by Nature World News.