High winds threaten fire risks, blizzard conditions for nation's battered midsection
The devastating weather that has hammered much of the nation in recent days showed only modest signs of easing Tuesday as a storm gaining strength in the Midwest was poised to drive high winds and "extremely critical" fire weather across the southern Plains, the National Weather Service warned.
Gusty winds and dry conditions are expected to fuel critical fire weather from Wednesday to Friday for southwestern Texas into the southern High Plains, according to the weather service. The strong storm system was also forecast to bring blizzard conditions from the central High Plains to the Upper Midwest.
Heavy snow will begin to spread overnight in the Central Plains before shifting to the Upper Midwest and western Great Lakes through Thursday morning, the weather service said.
"Snowfall rates up to 2 inches per hour are likely which will combine with wind gusts over 50 mph to produce blizzard conditions," according to the weather service. "The combination of heavy falling snow and strong winds will create snow-covered roads and near zero visibility at times. This will make travel dangerous to nearly impossible."
AccuWeather said storms Tuesday night could target parts of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa with significant and damaging hail, thunderstorms, torrential downpours, and strong wind gusts. Parts of Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi are at risk of severe thunderstorms, wind gusts of up to 80 mph and a few tornadoes on Wednesday and Wednesday night.
"Impacts from the winds could include sporadic power outages, and difficult travel for high-profile vehicles," the weather service said.
The unsettled weather could roll as far east as the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Georgia, and northern Florida on Thursday, AccuWeather said. But AccuWeather said a widespread outbreak of violent weather and tornadoes such as the one that killed more than 40 people over the weekend was not likely.
Blinding dust storms hit Texas, New Mexico and Kansas
High winds started to pick up on Tuesday, blowing dirt and creating widespread dust storms in several states. Dust storm warnings were issued earlier Tuesday for New Mexico, Texas, and Kansas.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, dust storms created limited visibility of less than a mile in some areas, according to the local weather service office. The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Program also issued a health alert because of the dust, warning residents to limit outdoor activity.
"Just absolutely horrible conditions and visibility across central and eastern (New Mexico) today!" the weather service's Albuquerque office said on social media.
Numerous road closures were issued across parts of the state due to dangerous winds and blowing dust, according to the New Mexico Department of Transportation. Authorities issued a travel advisory for southern New Mexico after winds were expected to reach 30 to 45 mph and peak gusts were forecast between 60 and 75 mph.
Officials in Otero County, near the New Mexico and Texas border — reported that U.S. Route 54 was closed in both directions between the communities of Alamogordo and Orogrande due to a multi-vehicle crash on the highway, according to the weather service.
In Texas, much of the Panhandle-South Plains region was under a blowing dust warning, the weather service said. Widespread blowing dust was reducing visibility to less than a quarter mile. Motorists were urged to stay off the roads through the evening and overnight hours as conditions deteriorated, authorities added.
Earlier Tuesday, one person died in a traffic collision in northeast El Paso as the dust storm rolled through the region, the El Paso Times, part of the Paste BN Network reported. A tractor-trailer also overturned on Tuesday morning amid the severe weather.
Extreme risk of wildfires blankets southern Plains states
More than 20 million people were under red flag warnings through Tuesday night across parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, with another nearly 7 million in the region under high wind warnings.
Forecasters warned that the strong winds, low relative humidity and dry fuels brought a high an extreme risk of wildfires on Tuesday from eastern New Mexico into Oklahoma and Texas.
The National Weather Service urged anyone within the red flag warning areas to follow all local bans on burning, avoid parking on dry grass and safely discard of cigarettes.
The risk comes as Oklahomans are already reeling from an outbreak of wildfires and extreme weather that started on Friday and killed at least four people and injured 200 more.
Severe winds and a dust storm were blamed for wildfires, power outages, and highway closures Tuesday evening around the Texas Panhandle-South Plains. Local and state fire crews faced red flag conditions and blowing dust in near-zero visibility as they battled several major wildfires that flared up in western Texas.
See Oklahoma wildfire map
Contributing: Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times; Adam D. Young, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
(This story was updated to add new information.)