An upper-level low over the southern Rockies contributed to a bout of precipitation on Saturday, culminating in snowfall from Texas to Wyoming.
Precipitation predictions were as high as 10 inches outside of Denver, with more snow on the way, potentially bringing totals to 1-2 feet.
Approximately 1.4 million people were under a Winter Storm Warning, while 6.9 million were under a Winter Weather Advisory.
Denver was among the communities under a Winter Weather Advisory, with up to 5 inches of snow forecast to fall.
Some passes in central Colorado were briefly blocked to allow staff to safely clear the snowfall.
The Colorado Department of Transportation mandated that commercial vehicles driving on Interstate 70 carry chains.
Communities in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska were also expecting up to 8 inches of snow.
One of the unexpected spots to win out in the accumulation bucket is south of Amarillo, Texas, where 8-12 ” of snow was forecast to fall over the weekend.
The Texas Panhandle community receives just about 18 inches of snow each year, so the storm system might dump nearly a year’s worth of snow in a single weekend.
After the frozen precipitation ends on Sunday, the storm system will move into the South, bringing rain.
“It is going to link up with some Gulf of Mexico moisture, and when that happens, it’s really going to come down hard in the form of rain for the Gulf Coast, even the possibility of severe thunderstorms,” Bob Van Dillen, a meteorologist for Fox Weather, said
Strong to severe storms were anticipated to hit sections of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama on Sunday, with the threat shifting eastward on Monday.
During Valentine’s Day week, moisture on the system’s northern edge was forecast to interact with cold air to generate snow once more, but this time for Northeast and New England towns.
Next week, 1-4 inches of snow were forecast to fall across the eastern Ohio Valley and into Maine, with some areas along Interstate 84 receiving significantly more.
According to forecast projections, all precipitation will have moved off the Eastern Seaboard by Wednesday morning.