FLAGSTAFF, Arizona: A howling winter storm barreled through the West, hitting the mountain states with snow and fierce winds as it headed toward the country’s midsection on Tuesday.
The far-reaching storm system stretched from California to Indiana, gathering strength as it raced eastward. Parts of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin were bracing for blizzard conditions and up to 10 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.
“The storm system is really strengthening as it goes, and that’s usually a recipe for some heavy snowfall and a lot of wind, and that’s what we’re watching for,” said Mike Welvaert of the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wis. The storm hit nearly all of the western mountain states on Monday, leaving places like Flagstaff and Reno, Nev., under a thick blanket of snow. Heavy rain raised fears of mudslides in wildfire-devastated Southern California, but no damage was reported.
