Winter Weather Alerts Issued in Every U.S. State as Deadly Storm Approaches

Weather alerts were in place for every U.S. state on Friday morning as a deadly winter storm moved into the nation.

Heavy snow, strong winds and blizzard conditions will plague a large swath of the U.S. from the mid-Missouri Valley to the Great Lakes through Saturday, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned. Frigid temperatures that could prove fatal will follow the storm system and grip the Rocky Mountains and the Plains states this weekend. Southern states also face a weather threat, with severe thunderstorms expected in the Southeast, along with strong winds, hail and tornadoes.

An NWS map showed that the alerts blanketing the U.S. on Friday morning encompassed blizzard warnings, tornado warnings, freeze watches, flood advisories and more.

Wind is having the biggest impact, according to the map. A wind advisory was in place for a large section of the South, Midwest and Northeast. A wind chill warning was in place for much of the Northern U.S. and the Plains states, with a wind chill advisory and a wind chill watch stretching further south into northern Texas. A brisk wind advisory was in place across Alaska, and a high wind warning was in place throughout much of the Northeast. A lake wind advisory was in place in South Carolina and Nevada.

The Northern U.S. faced bitingly cold wind that could produce a wind chill temperature of 70 below zero in parts of Montana and South Dakota.

“The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 5 minutes,” the NWS warning said. It went on to urge people to avoid travel if possible.

NWS public affairs specialist and meteorologist Michael Musher told Newsweek that it’s not uncommon for active weather alerts to be issued across the U.S. during the winter months.

“We are in a weather pattern at the moment where we are seeing one strong storm system after another,” he said.

“One storm will be rolling through the Eastern half of the country today, with numerous weather hazards from winter weather—snow, blizzard conditions—to heavy rain, flooding and severe thunderstorms, with possible tornadoes,” Musher continued. “Another storm follows this one in the West this weekend, with heavy rain and snow. One other note is the coldest air of the season will enter into the picture this weekend through a large part of next week, an Arctic air mass and intrusion.”

Snow threatened much of the U.S. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines previously told Newsweek that roughly 60 percent of the U.S. could be covered with snow at the same time. Snow is most likely in the Midwest, the Great Lakes region, parts of the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest.

The NWS warned of blizzard conditions in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. Blizzard conditions also posed a problem further south, with a snow forecast of 1 to 3 feet accompanied by gusting winds up to 70 miles per hour in Elko, Nevada, through Saturday night.

“Travel could be very difficult to impossible. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility,” the warning in Elko said. “The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. Very strong winds could cause extensive tree damage.”

Other blizzard warnings were in place in the Midwest and Great Lakes states.

Even Hawaii faced the threat of dangerous winter weather, as there was a winter storm warning in place for the summit areas of Haleakala National Park on Maui.