A second round of snow began falling in Minnesota on Wednesday as forecasters warned of a major winter storm that could make travel dangerous for wide areas of the country.
The National Weather Service said the “twin cities” of Minneapolis and St. Paul were expected to see an additional 12 inches of snow from 6 p.m. Wednesday through 6 p.m. Thursday, on top of the 5 inches that had already fallen.
“Minnesotans are no stranger to extreme weather, but this storm could break records,” Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement Wednesday.
More than 55 million people, from the northern plains to Boston and Maine, and along the western US coast, were under winter weather warnings or advisories Wednesday night, according to the weather service.
Blizzard warnings were in place for another 2 million, and blizzard warnings affected 8 million.
In the Los Angeles area, blizzard warnings were in place for the mountains. It appears to have happened only the second time in 1989 the weather service in oxnard said,
A series of low-pressure waves crossing an Arctic cold front is causing heavy snow and blizzard conditions across the Plains and Midwest, the weather service said, with the potential for major travel disruptions.
“Luckily our plane got in, but it looked like 90 percent of flights were getting canceled,” said Ann Wicksins, who flew into a surprisingly empty Minneapolis airport on Wednesday. “It’s really awful here in the airport.”
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport saw more than 400 cancellations on Wednesday, the airport said.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota-born Lt. Andrew Sieben joked to reporters that he made it “probably about 11 feet” to the end of his driveway before his squad car got stuck.
“We’re not even in the really bad part of the storm that’s coming, and we expect it to get much worse,” Siebenborn said Wednesday. He encouraged people to stay at home and wait it out.
About 8 ½ inches of snow had fallen at the city’s airport as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, and the weather service expected the last round of snow to fall at 1 inch an hour after midnight.
The Arizona Department of Transportation closed at least eight interstates or portions of state routes Wednesday because of the winter storm. About 3 to 6 inches of snow fell in the Flagstaff area, the weather service said, with winds gusting up to 50 mph.
According to the weather service, a new storm will lead to a risk of heavy snow in the western US, mainly in California on Thursday and Friday.
A blizzard warning in southern California is in effect for mountains in Los Angeles and Ventura County, the weather service said, from 4 a.m. Friday to 4 p.m. Saturday. Up to 5 feet of snow can be seen on the mountains.
Minneapolis and St. Paul were under winter storm warnings until Thursday afternoon, and forecasters warned that the harshest travel conditions were expected through Thursday morning.
Green Bay, Wisconsin, was on a winter storm warning until 6 p.m. Thursday, and the warning for Bangor, Maine, was set to expire at 10 p.m.
