Big weekend storm targets central U.S.
As the storm that blasted U.S. Wednesday and Thursday winds down, yet another one is forecast to bring a messy mix of snow, ice, rain and thunderstorms to much of the central U.S. over the weekend.
The storm will bring everything from heavy snow and blizzard conditions to ice, flooding rain and severe thunderstorms, AccuWeather said.
"The combination of heavy snow and strong winds will create blizzard conditions from eastern New Mexico to the Texas Panhandle and southwestern Kansas," said AccuWeather's Andrew Gagnon.
Snow will begin early on Saturday across the southern Rockies, before spreading into the High Plains by evening, the National Weather Service warned in an online forecast. "Areas of sleet and freezing rain will also be possible by Saturday evening across portions of the Southern/Central Plains."
Cities such as Albuquerque, Amarillo and Lubbock could all be in the blizzard zone.
Ice could also create travel headaches from west-central Texas to central Oklahoma, central Kansas, southeastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa.
The Weather Channel has named the storm Winter Storm Goliath. The storm could eventually bring some snow to the Midwest Monday and the Northeast on Tuesday, according to the Weather Channel.
Farther east, severe thunderstorms and flooding rains will be the main story. "Portions of eastern Texas will be at risk on Sunday, followed by the lower Mississippi Valley on Monday," Gagnon said.
On Sunday, the Storm Prediction Center has placed eastern Texas in a risk area for severe storms. This includes the cities of Dallas, San Antonio and Austin.
The risk of the storms is likely to include damaging wind gusts and perhaps a few tornadoes, according to AccuWeather.
Heavy rain will also lead to floods in the central U.S. over the weekend. Rain will fall on multiple days from north-central Texas to west-central Illinois, AccuWeather said. Rainfall in this swath is likely to range from 3 to 6 inches, with local amounts to approach 10 inches, potentially leading to flooding.