Storm pummeling the southern Plains with more than a foot of snow

Heavy snow continued to fall across the southern Plains on Wednesday night as several towns in Oklahoma had already recorded a foot or more of snowfall. By the time all is said and done Thursday morning, forecasters say an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 18 inches of snow can occur.

AccuWeather meteorologists had warned prior to the event that this storm would be the largest snowfall yet this season for part of the region, and that forecast is coming to fruition.

Snow began to blossom over the Colorado and northern New Mexico mountains Tuesday into Wednesday, but, by mountain standards, the snow was relatively light and on the order of a few inches.

As anticipated, snow began to break out farther to the east over the Plains of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and the northern Texas Panhandle and became heavy in this corridor at midweek.

This radar image from Wednesday night, Dec. 2, 2020, shows heavy snow (darker blue) falling across portions of southwestern Kansas and northwestern Oklahoma. Some locations had already received more than a foot of snow by Wednesday night. (AccuWeather)

By Wednesday night, some areas of Oklahoma had recorded a foot or more of snowfall, with Laverne and Rosston both recording 13 inches.

The heaviest snow was falling in a very small corridor of southwestern Kansas and northwestern Oklahoma Wednesday night. The National Weather Service office in Dodge City, Kansas, reported a large snowfall gradient in their region as 1.7 inches of snow had fallen in Dodge City as of Wednesday evening, while Minneola, approximately 20 miles away, was buried underneath 10 inches of snow.

With snow continuing to come down in Dodge City as of Wednesday night, this event has already marked the city's highest snowfall total yet this season. In late October, a storm system gave 1.5 inches of snow to Dodge City.

Roads are likely to be snow-packed and slippery across the region, especially west of Wichita, Kansas, and northwest of Oklahoma City.

Road conditions can remain treacherous into Thursday night despite the snowfall winding down fairly early in the day across the southern Plains.

Snow is forecast to extend eastward into southern portions of Missouri and northern Arkansas through Thursday morning. Snowfall accumulations are likely to be far less impressive than areas to the west, with 1-3 inches of snow forecast to fall on parts of the Ozark Mountains.

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During Thursday afternoon the snow should be winding down in Missouri and Arkansas as the storm begins to weaken.

While the South Central states will endure unseasonably cold conditions in the wake of this storm on Thursday, any snow should begin to melt at the end of the week as high temperatures in the mid-40s to low 50s F return on Friday. Plenty of sunshine will also aid in melting the snow.

The same storm is forecast to regain strength and could evolve into a major nor'easter along the Atlantic coast from Friday night to Saturday night with flooding rain, heavy snow and strong winds.

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