Christmas Day Blizzard: Heavy Snow Expected in Dakotas, Freezing Rain for Parts of Wisconsin

Poor travel conditions are forecast for much of the Northern Plains as a winter storm tracking east is expected to bring heavy snow from Utah, Montana, Wyoming eastward into the Dakotas while from southeast South Dakota to Wisconsin, the National Weather Service predicts freezing rain.

Blizzard warnings are in effect for much of North and South Dakota and ice storm warnings and freezing rain advisories are in place from the eastern Dakotas to northern Wisconsin. Holiday travel will be "significantly degraded" across the Dakotas and the upper midwest.

As for air travel, as of around noon on Sunday, FlightAware was not reporting any significant delays, but that could change as the storm strengthens.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop over parts of eastern Texas and the lower Mississippi valley Sunday evening. Rain is forecast for portions the middle Mississippi valley, the Tennessee valley, central Appalachia for tonight and the rain will spread to the Great Lakes by Monday morning.

Meanwhile, dense fog is expected in the central plains, middle Mississippi valley, the Gulf Coast and the south and mid-Atlantic.

Image Credit: Matt Chan via Flickr Creative Commons