Wildfire outbreak and major winter storm possible Wednesday

A weather whiplash type of day is in store as a major snowstorm is taking shape over the Rockies, severe thunderstorms across the Plains and there’s an extreme risk for wildfires for parts of Texas and Oklahoma.

On Wednesday morning Winter Storm Warnings were up for 5 million people, ahead of what could be Denver’s biggest snowstorm of the season so far.

Denver will see rain with embedded thunderstorms and temperatures near 50 degrees through midday before crashing into the low 30s with that rain changing to snow around the evening rush hour.

Once the snow starts across the I-25 corridor, it will last through Friday morning with snowfall rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour at times. The heavy snow combined with wind gusts up to 40 mph will make travel nearly impossible.

The I-25 corridor could divide the more blockbuster snow totals of 2 to 4 feet to the west from 4 to 12 inches to the east.

• West of I-25: Total snow accumulations of 1-2 feet with localized totals up to 4 feet especially for the eastern slopes of the Front Range.
• East of I-25: Lesser amounts will be possible here, with generally 4 to 10 inches the most likely scenario with locally higher amounts of up to 8to 16 inches especially along the Palmer Divide which is just east of the Denver metro.

This is a complex forecast for the Denver metro area, specifically, when it comes to how much snow they will see. Regardless of the amounts, the snow beginning around the evening rush hour tonight and continuing through the morning rush hour tomorrow will likely cause major travel issues.

Denver’s largest snowstorm of the season was back in late October, when they picked up 7.5 inches. If they end up picking up snowfall totals in the double-digits, it could be their biggest snowstorm in three years.

Significant snowstorms in March are common for this part of the country. Two of the four heaviest snowstorms on record in Denver happened in mid-March.

As the snow is picking up in intensity across the Rockies, severe storms will be igniting at the same time across portions of the central Plains.

Four million people are under the risk for severe storms Wednesday into Wednesday night across parts of northeastern Kansas, northern Missouri and extreme southern Nebraska.

Very large hail up to tennis-ball sized will be the main risk, followed by isolated tornadoes. Kansas City and Topeka are the main metro areas at risk.

On Thursday as the storm system shifts east, 21 million people will be at risk along an 850-mile stretch from northern Illinois down to northeast Texas.

Very large hail will be the main risk especially across eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Isolated tornadoes and damaging winds will also be possible. Cities to watch include St. Louis, Little Rock and Dallas.

South of where the severe storms are expected to occur, wildfires will be a major threat today for the southern Plains.

The Storm Prediction Center used strong language in their fire weather outlook Wednesday, indicating a critical to extreme fire danger may lead to a ‘wildfire outbreak’ with several wildfires sparking today.