Winter Storm Warning Issued for 8 States as Extreme Snowfall Predicted

Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of eight states as another significant front from the Pacific Ocean makes moves across the West, bringing several feet of snow and blizzard conditions to mountain regions into the weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued alerts for California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, warning of blowing snow and strong winds causing whiteout conditions in places.

In its latest forecast, the NWS said Western states should expect multiple days of precipitation as the storm is fed by moisture from an atmospheric river. In the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, in excess of 12 feet of snow is anticipated through to Sunday.

"In addition, widespread damaging wind gusts of 55+ mph are forecast across much of the region, with even stronger gusts of 75+ mph for higher elevations, leading to the risk of downed trees and power lines," the NWS added. "The most intense combination of snow and wind will come together over the Sierra Nevada, where a powerful blizzard is expected."

Another winter storm from the Pacific made landfall earlier this week before moving into the Intermountain West, bringing intense snowfall from Utah to Wyoming and Colorado.

Western states have already faced several bouts of heavy snowfall so far this winter, having been subjected to a prolific series of atmospheric rivers that brought a rare blizzard warning for Seattle in early January.

In the Cascades of western Washington and Oregon, additional snow accumulations of up to 9 inches and winds as high as 45 miles an hour are anticipated through Friday. In the southern Cascades of Oregon, snow totals could reach 3 feet by Saturday.

Aside from in the Sierra Nevada, parts of northern and eastern California are set to receive 1 or 2 feet of snow, with winds of up to 70 miles an hour causing periods of blowing snow.

The Ruby mountains and Humboldt range of Nevada are under blizzard warnings due to over a foot of snowfall and strong winds, while other parts of the state will see around 10 inches of snow, with potentially higher localized amounts, and winds of 75 miles an hour in places.

Wintry conditions will continue into Utah, where up to 3 feet of snow is expected to fall on the Central, Southern and Wasatch mountains, with wind gusts as high as 75 miles an hour.

This will continue up into western Wyoming, which will see up to 20 inches of snow over the weekend, with winds reaching 50 miles an hour. Mountain ranges in the region are forecast to see snow totals approaching 3 or 4 feet.

A part of southwest Montana is also under a warning, where snow accumulations of up to 15 inches and winds of 60 miles an hour will create significant blowing and drifting snow.

In southeastern and central Idaho, as much as two feet of snow is expected to fall, with winds gusting as high as 60 miles an hour.

The NWS said the latest storm will also bring heavy coastal rain to parts of the Pacific Northwest, developing over California into Saturday.

It follows a pair of powerful atmospheric river storms from the Pacific Ocean, which brought widespread flooding to California earlier in the month.