A winter storm that dumped up to 15 inches of snow and forced coronavirus testing sites to close in the middle of the country is expected to bring further precipitation to parts of the Northeast on Wednesday, while forecasters are warning of an "atmospheric river" that will generate hazardous travel conditions on the West Coast.
The National Weather Service (NWS) also has winter weather advisories and storm warnings in effect for states in the Tennessee Valley, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, where "scattered to widespread rain" is expected through Thursday morning.
"Snow may linger across parts of the Northeast while any lingering precipitation to the south quickly tapers off," the NWS said in a Wednesday advisory. "A general 2 to 4 inches, with locally higher amounts can be expected, especially in the mountains."
A lone man walks along a frozen section of North Ave. beach on Lake Michigan north of downtown Chicago on Tuesday. (AP)
STORM SYSTEM TO BRING MORE SNOW, RAIN TO EASTERN US, WHILE CALFORNIA FACES HEAVY PRECIPITATION
"Snow could mix with rain through the southern Mid-Atlantic early on Thursday as the area of low pressure strengthens and continues to dash eastward into the Atlantic," it added.
The West, meanwhile, is getting slammed with incredible amounts of rain and feet of snow as an "atmospheric river" sets up and brings continuous pacific moisture into the region.
"Mountain snow will likely be heavy at times across the Sierra Nevada," the NWS said Wednesday. "Several feet of snow (as much as 10 feet) will add up through Thursday night, with road closures and travel delays very likely."
Blizzard warnings are also in effect for that region, while moderate to heavy rainfall is forecast for central and southern California.
"Over the next three days, as much as 10 to 15 inches of rain could fall along the central California coast roughly between Monterey and Santa Barbara," the advisory said. "This amount of rain in a 72-hour period is very rare for this region, with an annual exceedance probability of only 2 percent."
An electronic road signs warns motorists headed eastbound on Interstate 70 about difficult driving conditions as a winter storm sweeps over the intermountain West on Tuesday in Aurora, Colo. (AP)
CALIFORNIA EVACUATION ORDERS EXPANDED DUE TO MUDSLIDE THREATS
In the central U.S., wind-whipped snow is continuing to impact travel Wednesday. Interstates were temporarily closed in western Nebraska and in Wisconsin near Milwaukee because of crashes yesterday, and scores of flights were canceled at airports across the region. Officials have been urging drivers to stay off the roads.
Several coronavirus testing sites closed Monday and Tuesday in Nebraska and Iowa, as both states saw 12 to 15 inches of snow in places.
Around 10 inches were reported in parts of Wisconsin, while more than 6 inches were measured in the Chicago area.
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Most of Nevada is also bracing for another series of powerful storms that generated a rare blizzard warning along with a forecast for as much as 6 feet of snow and wind gusting over 100 mph in the mountains above Lake Tahoe by early Friday. At lake level, the weather service expects 2 to 4 feet of snow with winds gusting to 50 mph.
"Travel could be near impossible or even paralyzed with near-zero visibility through Friday morning," the service said.
Fox News’ Janice Dean contributed to this report, as well as The Associated Press.
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