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Spring Storm Brings Snow To Colo., High Winds To Wyo., Dust Storm In Ariz.

A woman crosses the street as steam rises from a manhole cover in Denver's financial district on Tuesday.
Ed Andrieski
/
AP
A woman crosses the street as steam rises from a manhole cover in Denver's financial district on Tuesday.

We almost feel guilty writing this post, because here in Washington, we're finally seeing some spring (the cherry blossoms have reached full bloom!): But in the Plains, a spring storm is bringing snow to Colorado and Wyoming and whipped up enough winds to cover parts of Arizona in dust.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

"Wyoming took the brunt of the snowstorm as the cold front dawdled over that state rather than barrel through Colorado. More than a foot of snow fell in from Laramie to Lander, more than expected.

"Originally, the National Weather Service was predicting a sizable snow accumulation in Denver, but predictions were revised downward in the area from more than 12 inches to about half that. As much as 10 inches of snow have already fallen in the state's mountains.

"Fierce winds blew from south of Denver to the New Mexico line with gusts of more than 50 mph. At least two tornadoes were reported. In Arizona, at least 30 miles of Interstate 40 were closed for several hours because of the swirling dust."

Capital Weather Gang reports that the storm is being fueled by the interaction of cold arctic air in the north and warm tropical moisture in the south.

"Winter storm warnings now stretch from Utah to Minnesota, and blizzard warnings are up for locations near Denver, where schools and many businesses are closed today," the weather blog reports.

Weather.com reports that Oklahoma City, Wichita, Kansas City, Des Moines and Chicago are in the bullseye today. Those areas could see a tornado breakout, hail and dangerous wind gusts.

The line of storms will eventually move into the Ohio valley and then onto the Midwest and east. It will be a multi-day event, the Weather Channel reports.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.