Snow In May? Winter Storm Zephyr Brings Post-Mother’s Day Mayhem To The US
Winter Storm Zephyr is threatening to disrupt post-Mother’s Day celebrations with its wintry mix. The storm is reported to dump heavy snow in the mountainous western region of the US.
On Sunday a tornado touched down in Clay County, Nebraska, according to the emergency management coordinator for that county, Loren Uden.
Uden reported damaged roofs, blown out windows, and several damaged businesses in the downtown Nebraska area as a result of the tornado.
According to CNN, the storm brought heavy rain, strong winds, and hail half the size of baseballs in areas of Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa, causing significant damage to homes, vehicles, and schools, as well as taking down trees and power lines. The National Weather Service is surveying the damage and has given the tornado a preliminary rating of EF-2, which is described as causing “considerable damage” by the Enhanced Fujitsu Scale.
As reported by The Weather Channel Sunday evening, Zephyr already dumped profuse amounts of snow throughout the West:
7.8? of snow in Silverton, Colorado
8.0? of snow in Leadville, Colorado
8? of snow in Harrison, Nebraska
18? of snow 22 miles west of Cheyenne, Wyoming
24? of snow 10 miles east of Encampment, Wyoming
Earth Sky reported that ten preliminary tornadoes were spotted across Missouri and Iowa on Saturday. Missouri’s governor, Jay Nixon, urged residents to monitor conditions and heed weather alerts as another round of dangerous weather is forecast for later Sunday. Nixon asked Missourians to “stay alert, use caution and take shelter immediately” if severe weather is headed their way.
Although tornadoes were a major issue for the Midwest this weekend, a major snowstorm, producing heavy snow, impacted the Rocky Mountain region.
Earth Sky said that higher terrains in the area picked up about two to three feet of snow, with some areas picking up more than three feet.
According to historical data, snow in May is not completely unusual, and the latest snowfall to ever occur in the Denver area was on June 12, 1947. Meteorologist predicted Sunday that if Denver measured the snowfall in today’s forecast, then it will likely be the heaviest snow this late in the season Denver has seen in at least ten years.
CNN reported that the only areas of the contiguous United States to escape Mother Nature’s wrath Sunday will be the Northeast and the West Coast. Most of the rest of the country will be dealing with some type of wind or storms.
[Photo Credit: Bing]
