Mar 5, 2012; 3:30 PM ET
Gusty winds will kick up dust in the deserts Tuesday into Thursday, moving eastward. (Photos.com image)
A brief, but sudden, big change is coming to the weather in California and the Southwest Tuesday into Wednesday.
A storm rolling into the Northwest at the start of the week will blast the region with gusty winds and much colder air.
According to Western Weather Expert Ken Clark, "Strong winds will sweep all across the region, making for dangers to travelers."
"Gusts to 60 mph can occur over the deserts, but gusts of 40 mph will be common even in coastal areas and Central Valley locations," Clark added.
Motorists should be prepared from sudden gusts of wind from California, Nevada and Arizona Tuesday which will spread eastward across New Mexico, Utah and Colorado Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Initially, winds will be out of the southwest but will shift around to northeast, north or northwest, depending on location.
Not only will strong crosswinds make for dangerous handling at highway speeds, but they will raise the risk of sudden low visibility in blowing dust.
Locally strong winds can also lead to downed tree limbs and sporadic power outages.
In the Sierra Nevada and other mountains of the West, the push of cold air will be accompanied by a period of snow. There is the potential for brief whiteout conditions as the leading edge of the cold air arrives. Very little or no precipitation will reach lower elevations.
The storm will also bring a push of much colder air. Some residents may see temperatures dive by 30 degrees from one day to the next. In the mountains, temperatures could drop by this much in a matter of hours.
Temperatures could drop to record low levels for the date in portions of California to the Four Corners.
"Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, especially over the Central Valley and the Central Coast of California, there can be a hard freeze," Clark said.
Temperatures can dip into the 20s for several hours in these areas.
As the storm system moves east of the southern Rockies later in the week, the odds of locally strong thunderstorms will increase over part of the south central states.
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