More than 24 million Americans were under a winter weather advisory Thursday as a snowstorm that hammered Denver with the biggest two-day January snowfall in more than 30 years slowly pushed eastward.
“Winter storm continues for the Upper Midwest (and) Great Lakes Thursday with heavy, blowing snow leading to dangerous travel conditions,” the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said in a statement.
Additional snowfall totals of around 6-12 inches are forecast for portions of the Upper Great Lakes, and locally higher totals over a foot are possible, the statement said. Much of the snowfall is expected to occur over a period of a few hours. Snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour and gusty winds could make “travel difficult to impossible.”
Snow was falling Thursday morning from Iowa to Michigan, the heaviest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, AccuWeather said. Heavy, wet snow will continue to fall across parts of the Upper Midwest throughout the day, with 6-12 inches of snow expected across much of Michigan – and 20 inches possible in localized areas.
Other weather developments:
►Sections of I-70 in Colorado remained closed Thursday after a pileup involving nine semi-trucks and 12 passenger vehicles on Wednesday shut down a 160-mile stretch of the interstate in both directions from Aurora to the Kansas state line.
►Over 2 million people were under a tornado watch in the South, AccuWeather reported.
New York City appeared unlikely to be hit with snow in the latest storm. The city could set a record for the longest number of consecutive days without measurable snow if the snowless streak lasts through Feb. 6, AccuWeather said.
►Los Angeles County, which has 88 cities and 10 million people, collected enough water from a series of deadly storms over the last three weeks to supply about 800,000 people for a year, said Mark Pestrella, director of the Los Angeles County Public Works department.
THURSDAY WINTER WEATHER:Snow forecast for central US increases Thursday; 21-vehicle pileup closes Colorado interstate
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Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin brace for wintry weather
Parts of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin could see 4 to 8 inches of snow Thursday. Gusty winds up to 35 mph will lead to instances of blowing snow, along with “near-whiteout conditions” during the heaviest snow, the weather service warned.
In Wisconsin, the heaviest snow totals are expected to be 5 to 8 inches for central and east-central Wisconsin, as well as 5 to 8 inches in Green Bay and Fox Cities, the Appleton Post-Crescent, part of the USA TODAY Network, reports. Northern Door County could see up to 10 inches of snow.
Tornado confirmed in Arkansas; more dangerous weather looms
Dangerous gusty winds will be possible Thursday across parts of Arkansas, where at least one tornado was confirmed on Wednesday.
“Unsecured objects will be blown around, high profile vehicles will be a challenge to drive, and area lakes and rivers could become dangerous to navigate,” the weather service said.
VIDEO:Winter storm to travel from Rockies to Midwest mid-week
New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont could see snow
Snow and some ice is expected to expand into the Northeast on Thursday and into Friday, according to the weather service.
Snow totals of 4-8 inches were forecast from Upstate New York east through Vermont, New Hampshire, and coastal Maine late Thursday and into the day Friday. Locally higher totals over a foot are possible for higher elevations of the Green and White Mountains.
Some accumulating freezing rain is also possible, especially for the Catskills, Poconos, and Berkshires.
Contributing: The Associated Press