Feb 27, 2012; 8:50 PM ET
Road crews will be out, but motorists should still expect delays through the passes tonight into Tuesday. (Image by Photos.com)
Beneficial, but locally disruptive snow will swing through the mountains of the Southwest tonight into Tuesday from California to Colorado.
A storm that will hammer the northern Plains to the Northeast with snow and a wintry mix at midweek will impact the Four Corners region with snow in the mountains and locally gusty winds in general.
**Snow was falling at pass level over the Grapevine in Southern California today. A burst of snow was also hitting Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada. Spotty rain showers and thunderstorms were occurring at lower elevations in Southern California.**
Gusty winds will remain a problem through the passes and canyons into much of tonight, after the precipitation ends. Local gusts can reach 50 mph.
Snow levels will be around 6,000 feet in Arizona and northwestern New Mexico tonight. Since the snow will be falling at night, some of it will accumulate and make for slushy and slippery travel along portions of I-40 in the region.
Farther north snow will fall on the I-70 swath in the Wasatch and Colorado Rockies, creating travel headaches along I-70 tonight into Tuesday.
Since there is no uphill flow associated with the storm over the Colorado Plains, little or no snow is forecast for Denver.
Farther north, more of an uphill flow will produce snowfall over eastern Wyoming.
The storm will reach a zenith over the northern Plains to the Upper Midwest later Tuesday with perhaps a secondary maximum over part of the Northeast U.S. shortly thereafter.
The storm will bring some snow to southern ski resorts in the region, which is certainly a plus. Once again, farther north another dose of heavy snow will add to the risk of avalanches, while blessing careful skiers with more fresh powder.
A chill will settle over the region Tuesday and Tuesday night. Some record lows may be challenged in the region as a result by Wednesday morning.
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