Cross-country storm to bring blinding dust, brush fires and blizzard conditions across Central US
By Robert Shackelford, Karina Tsui and Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist
(CNN) — Another potent storm is putting millions in the United States in harm’s way again, just days after a deadly, cross-country storm left a trail of destruction in its wake.
The storm isn’t a carbon copy of the last one but will once again spawn severe weather, with powerful winds triggering fast-moving fires and a blizzard in the central US.
The storm has reached the Plains as of early Wednesday morning and will strengthen considerably throughout the day as it tracks into the Midwest. Winds from the storm were whipping up dangerous dust across parts of Texas and New Mexico Tuesday.
The most widespread threat will be powerful wind –– with gusts stronger than 40 mph expected from Texas to Minnesota Wednesday. These winds could be capable of damaging trees and power lines.
‘Wildfire outbreak’ possible as winds pick up
This storm is just one of many that have followed a similar pattern across the US as spring often begins conditions favorable for a series of storms to occur.
Gusty winds were blowing over parts of the southern Rockies and Plains on Tuesday into early Wednesday, ramping up the risk of wildfire spread to its highest level, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
A level 3 of 3 fire weather risk is in effect through early Wednesday for parts of New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, the Storm Prediction Center said. Vegetation there is primed for ignition and spread, and wind gusts up to 60 mph could turn any spark into a dangerous blaze.
A few gusts could approach 80 mph, especially in eastern New Mexico, the Center warned.
Several new fires started in the Texas plains on Tuesday, with the most notable blaze named the “Double S Fire” near Borger, Texas, which meteorologists say has the potential to cause damage to property and life.
Meanwhile, in Otero County, New Mexico, residents north of US Highway 82, between mile markers 31 and 33 were evacuated late Tuesday as fire agencies responded to a vegetation fire, CNN affiliate KOAT reported.
In Bosque Farms, a village south of Albuquerque, New Mexico, a brush fire broke out on Tuesday, causing part of Highway 47 to shut down, KOAT reported.
“The fire was able to move through a field, into some heavier brush, then got into some structures,” Valencia County Fire Chief Matt Propp told KOAT. “We’re not sure how many structures were involved at this time, possibly two.”
“On days like this, any source of heat will cause fires like this, and these fires explode. These are the type of fires where we won’t put our personnel in front because of how fast it’s moving,” said Propp.
“We’re going to chase those fires in a safe area, and we prioritize protecting structures at that point.”
As the storm intensifies and moves north, gusty winds will keep fire risk at a moderate level for parts of western and southern Texas. The most significant risk of wildfire spread, however, will remain confined to the tinder-dry areas of the Southern Plains.
Strong winds sweeping through the Southern Plains started to kick up dirt and debris on Tuesday, creating blinding dust storms with little to no visibility. Parts of New Mexico and Texas have dust storm warnings in effect until early Wednesday as gusts stronger than 50 mph have been recorded.
According to the Albuquerque branch of the National Weather Service, the city’s metro area saw significant dust storms with visibility of less than a mile in some areas, while “horrible conditions and visibility” were observed in the central and eastern portions of the state.
The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Program issued a health alert until 8 p.m. Tuesday, warning residents to limit outdoor activity. The dust also caused interstate roads to close –– including a nearly 130-mile stretch of highway from Arizona to the outskirts of Las Cruces, according to the New Mexico Department of Transportation.
Just last week, as violent tornadoes swept through parts of the US, prompting dust storms in the Southern Plains, a pileup of dozens of cars and trucks on Interstate 70 left eight people dead, the Associated Press reported.
“There is no safe place on a highway when a dust storm hits,” the National Weather Service in El Paso, Texas, warned Tuesday.
At least eight people in Kansas and four people in Texas were killed in car crashes Friday when dust storms blotted out the sky and sent visibilities to near zero.
These renewed wildfire threats are happening just days after deadly fires broke out over the weekend.
More than 130 wildfires fueled by high winds damaged at least 400 homes and killed four people in separate counties in Oklahoma over the weekend, the state’s Department of Emergency Management said.
Blizzard conditions return
Across the northern end of the storm, snow has started falling on parts of the Plains and over some of the Midwest. Spots caught under the heaviest snowfall from far eastern Nebraska to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula could experience more than half a foot of snow through Wednesday night.
A few inches of March snow aren’t typically dangerous enough to cause significant disruptions in the Plains and Midwest, but conditions could worsen if snowfall is paired with prolonged gusty winds.
Blizzards occur when snow and strong winds combine and create whiteout conditions for a few hours. Whiteout conditions — like dust storms — make it incredibly hard to see more than a few feet ahead.
Across 700 miles of land from northwestern Colorado to southern Minnesota, blizzard warnings are in effect until Wednesday afternoon.
Snowfall rates over 2 inches per hour, along with gusts of 50-70 mph, could cause visibilities to drop below a quarter of a mile for Interstate 70 and Highway 83, leading to pileups and major traffic accidents.
Travel in blizzard conditions could be “treacherous and potentially life-threatening,” warned the National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa.
The storm is also expected to cause temperatures to drop in states across central US.
After seeing temperatures in the upper 70s and 80s this week, temperatures in Omaha, Nebraska, will likely plunge nearly 50 degrees in 24 hours, falling to around 32 degrees by 9 am Wednesday, when blizzard conditions and snowfall up to 8 inches could take place.
Thunderstorms could deliver damaging winds
Thunderstorms will rumble Wednesday from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast and some could become severe.
The severe thunderstorm threat is nowhere near as significant or widespread as the tornado outbreak spawned by the deadly storm this past weekend, but storms could hinder recovery efforts where people are trying to pick up the pieces and threaten some of the same areas impacted Friday.
Most storms won’t be severe, but a few, especially in Iowa, could dump hail into Wednesday morning.
Additional thunderstorms — some severe — will form Wednesday afternoon in parts of the Midwest, stretch through Tennessee and into parts of Mississippi and Alabama into the overnight. Strong wind gusts and hail are the main threats, but a few tornadoes cannot be ruled out.
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