'Very Large' Winter Storm In Northern Plains And Upper Midwest, 24 Inches Snow Possible

A "very large winter storm" in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest is expected to make travel impossible and result in power outages in affected areas, with Minnesota and Wisconsin forecasted to see up to 24 inches of snow accumulations.

"A major storm system was moving from the central plains towards the Upper Midwest this afternoon and causing widespread heavy snow and blizzard conditions in the northern/Central Plains and wintry mixed precipitation in the Upper Midwest," the National Weather Service (NWS) said Wednesday.

The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) also noted the storm could result in "near zero visibility" and may cause "scattered power outages, and harsh livestock conditions."

In some parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, up to 24 inches of snow is forecasted, according to a snowfall forecast by the NWS valid through 7 p.m. Saturday.

In Minnesota, the NWS in Twin Cities said it is expecting the heaviest snowfall to occur through late Thursday evening in the following areas: Hayward, Ladysmith, Rice Lake, Morris, Brainerd, Hinckley, Alexandria, Madison and Eau Claire.

While lower snow accumulations are expected in Wisconsin, the NWS in Milwaukee reiterated that Wednesday night will produce heavy, wet snow of up to six inches in Porta, Dells, Fond du Lac, Berlin and Montello.

In South Dakota, lighter snow is forecasted to fall on and off throughout Wednesday night, but "a strong round of snow and wind" is expected by mid-morning Thursday, the NWS in Sioux Falls said.

In neighboring North Dakota, the NWS in Grand Forks said reduced visibility should be expected, resulting in hazardous travel conditions.

Over in Nebraska, the NWS in North Platte warned of "difficult if not impossible" travel in some areas, with road closures implemented due to blowing and drifting snow.

In Michigan, officials at the NWS in Grand Rapids noted that wind gusts of up to 50 mph might result in isolated power outages.

Winter alerts in Minnesota

Winter Storm Warnings effective through 6 p.m. Thursday:

• Big Stone and Traverse
• North Itasca and Koochiching
• North and Central St. Louis
• Northern Cooke and Northern Lake (up to 20 inches possible in higher terrain)
• North and South Cass, Crow Wing, Northern Aitkin, Pine
• Mille Lacs, Morrison, Isanti, Chisago, Kanabec, Washington
• Hennepin, Dakota, Ramsey, Anoka

Winter Storm Warnings effective through 9 p.m. Thursday:

• East and West Becker, East and West Otter Tail, East Polk, Hubbard, Grant, Mahnomen, Lake of the Woods, North and South Clearwater, North and South Beltrami, Roseau, Pennington, Red Lake, Wadena
• West Polk, West Marshall, Wilkin, Norman, Kittson, Clay (wind gusts of up to 40 mph possible)
• Todd, Swift, Wright, Yellow Medicine, Stearns, Pope, Stevens, Lac Qui Parle, Douglas, Meeker, Chippewa, Kandiyohi

Blizzard Warnings effective through 6 p.m. Thursday:

• Southern Cook and Southern Lake (up to 22 inches possible)
• South St. Louis and Carlton (up to 20 inches in higher terrain possible)

Winter alerts in Wisconsin

Winter Storm Warnings effective through 9 a.m. Thursday:

• Vilas, Menominee, Northern and Southern Oconto County, Northern and Southern Marinette County, Oneida, Shawano, Langlade, Lincoln, Florence, Forest
• Marathon, Waupaca, Wood, Portage
• Door, Outagamie, Brown, Adams, Jackson, Buffalo, Monroe, Juneau, Trempealeau
• Clark and Taylor

Winter Storm Warnings effective through 6 p.m. Thursday:

• Bayfield and Douglas (up to 18 inches possible)
• Washburn, Price, Ashland, Iron, Sawyer
• Rusk, St. Croix, Barron, Polk

Winter alerts in South Dakota

Winter Storm Warnings effective through 5 p.m. Thursday:

• Corson and Dewey (wind gusts of up to 50 mph possible)
• Faulk, Campbell, Edmunds, Potter, McPherson, Walworth
• Brown, Codington, Grant, Clark, Day, Deuel, Marshall, Hamlin, Roberts (wind gusts of up to 45 mph possible)
• Spink, Hughes, Buffalo, Sully, Hyde, Hand (wind gusts of up to 50 mph possible)
• Aurora, Jerauld, Douglas, Beadle, Davison, Hutchinson, Hanson, Sanborn, Miner, Brookings, Moody, Lake, Kingsbury, McCook

Blizzard Warnings effective through 5 a.m. Thursday:

• Northern Meade Co Plains, Ziebach, Harding, Perkins, Butte (wind gusts of up to 50 mph possible)
• Northern Foot Hills, Piedmont Foot Hills, Sturgis, Pennington Co Plains, Haakon, Southern Meade Co Plains, Todd, Mellette, Trip, Oglala Lakota, Jackson, Bennett

Blizzard Warnings effective through 5 p.m. Thursday:

• Lyman, Stanley and Jones
• Gregory, Brule and Charles Mix

Winter alerts in North Dakota

Winter Storm Warning effective through 6 a.m. Thursday:

• Golden Valley, Adams, Billings, Burke, Bowman, Dunn, Divide, Mountrail, Stark, McKenzie, Stark, Williams

Winter Storm Warnings effective through 6 a.m. Friday:

• Bottineau, Burleigh, Emmons, Dickey, Grant, Foster, La Moure, Kidder, McHenry, Logan, McLean, McIntosh, Morton, Mercer, Oliver, Renville, Pierce, Sheridan, Stutsman, Sioux, Wells, Ward (heavy snow expected)
• Western Walsh County, Eddy, Barnes, Griggs, Benson, Cavalier, Ramsey, Nelson, Sargent, Ransom, Towner

Winter alerts in Nebraska

Winter Storm Warning effective through 6 a.m. Thursday:

• Blaine, Logan and Rock (wind gusts of up to 45 mph possible)

Winter Storm Warning effective through 6 p.m. Thursday:

• Boyd and Holt

Blizzard Warnings effective through 6 a.m. Thursday:

• Arthur, Eastern and Western Cherry, Deuel, Grant, Garden, Sheridan, and Hooker
• Brown, Keya Paha, McPherson, Thomas

Blizzard Warning effective through 5 p.m. Thursday:

• Box Butte, North and South Sioux, Dawes (wind gusts of up to 55 mph possible)

Winter alerts in Michigan

Winter Storm Warning effective through 11 a.m. Thursday:

• Gogebic, Menominee, Dickinson and Iron

Wind Advisory effective through 7 a.m. Thursday:

• Van Buren, Muskegon, Ottawa, Barry, Allegan, Clinton, Calhoun, Ingham, Eaton, Jackson, Ionia, Kent, Kalamazoo, Kent (wind gusts of up to 50 mph possible)

Winter alert in Montana

Winter Storm Warning effective through 5 a.m. Thursday:

• Custer, Fallon, Carter, Powder River, Sheridan, Eastern and Western Roosevelt, McCone, Dawson, Prairie, Wibaux, Richland