The storm, caused by a low-pressure system moving east from the Pacific Ocean, is expected to bring temperature drops of about 50 degrees to places like Denver, where it was in the mid-70s and sunny Tuesday but could drop to the mid-20s by Wednesday night, with 55 mph wind gusts and up to 10 inches of snow. Whiteout conditions could make driving nearly impossible, forecasters said.
The effects of the low-pressure system will be felt from Colorado through Michigan, with heavy snow and thunderstorms, and even down into Texas, where dry conditions and high winds have led to fire warnings.
While the whiplash from pleasant to grim conditions might draw a collective groan, it should not come as much of a surprise to those familiar with springtime in the Plains.
“In Colorado, that’s not uncommon at all,” said Natalie Sullivan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder, Colorado, noting that April is historically the state’s second-snowiest month of the year, behind March.
Much of the region is still reeling from severe flooding brought on by storms and rising rivers last month. The floods inundated small towns and created a humanitarian crisis on the Pine Ridge Native American reservation, where tribal members found themselves trapped in their homes with little access to food.
Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota ordered state offices closed Wednesday. In Nebraska, officials announced the closing of some public aid offices and encouraged residents to be cautious when driving.
Forecasters were hoping that the long-term effects of this storm will not be as severe as those from the storm last month that set off the flooding.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.