The West Coast and Great Plains will see two precipitation-laden storms into the weekend.
Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of seven states as meteorologists predict a « dynamic storm system » will bring snow to the Great Plains, with snowfall expected in the Texas panhandle.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued warnings for Alaska, California, the Carolinas, Nevada, Oregon and Virginia, warning of hazardous travel conditions due to slippery roads and reduced visibility. Warnings were in place for New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas until Friday morning, but these have now been reduced to advisories.
In its latest forecast, the meteorology agency said a storm currently moving over the Great Plains will continue onto the Great Lakes region on Saturday, but will be followed by another Pacific storm, which will make landfall on Friday night, bringing heavy snow to mountainous areas and coastal rains.
« Around a foot of snow is expected for the Cascades and Sierra while slightly lesser totals are possible for the highest peaks of the Intermountain West, » said the NWS. « This system will go on to intensify into a dynamic storm over the Great Plains and cause widespread impacts from there to the East Coast early to mid-week.
