Winter storm threatens heavy snow, blizzards from Rockies to Upper Midwest, weather service warns travelers 'consider changing plans'

A major winter storm barreling out of Southern California threatened to deliver heavy snow, gusty winds and near-blizzard conditions for the weekend from the South Central Rockies to the Upper Midwest as many holiday travelers head home.

"Those with travel plans in this area should monitor the forecast and consider changing your plans," the National Weather Service warned on Twitter.

The NWS said the storm could bring up to 18 inches of snow from northern Nebraska to northwest Minnesota, where it could dump up to 20 inches.

The weather service said strong winds and heavy snowfall are expected to create near-blizzard conditions, reducing visibility as travelers take to the roads.

"Travel conditions as a result will become difficult to impossible," the NWS said.

Areas to the southeast of the band of heavy snow, including parts of eastern Nebraska and northern Wisconsin, are expected to get hit with periods of sleet and freezing rain, with up to a quarter-inch of ice in some areas.

As the storm made its trek to the northeast out of the Four Corners area of the Southwest, the weather service issued a winter storm warning for parts of Wyoming and Nebraska through Saturday, predicting up to a foot of snow from northern Nebraska to southeast North Dakota.

Forecasters warned wind-driven snow could create white-out conditions in the affected areas from Saturday night into Sunday.

So far at least one person, a 60-year-old woman, died from the winter storm after the car she was riding in veered off a snowy road in San Diego County, California, and crashed into an embankment.

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The snow shut down vital Interstate 5 in Tejon Pass through the mountains north of Los Angeles and stopped traffic on Interstate 15 over Cajon Pass in the inland region to the east.

I-15 reopened in both directions in the afternoon, but authorities later shut down about 45 miles of the freeway from Baker, California, to Primm, Nevada, on the way to Las Vegas because of snow and ice.

Motorist Johnny Lim, who was stuck Thursday for five hours in Cajon Pass, wasn’t sure he could reach Las Vegas, where he hoped to spend time after Christmas. He worried about driving his car through the pass when it reopens.

“The freeway is full of snow and ice,” he said, adding that his car “is not built for conditions like this.”

The storm, which pushed through the Four Corners area toward the northeast, also dumped a foot of snow on Flagstaff, Arizona.

The NWS forecast heavy snow for the Central Rockies and a corridor of freezing rain and sleet as far as northern Wisconsin.

Snow could create post-holiday travel headaches along portions of Interstates 76, 80 and 90 in Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota overnight Friday.

By Saturday, the storm likely will hit parts of northern Michigan, Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and northern Iowa with freezing rain or snow, The Weather Channel reported.

As it heads east, the storm is expected to spread snow and freezing rain from the Northern Plains to northern New England.

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Forecasters expected heavy snow across a northern strip of New York and New England, with mostly rain expected along the I-95 corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, parts of Mississippi, Alabama, southern Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle could face severe thunderstorms, with strong wind gusts and and isolated tornadoes, starting Sunday afternoon.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Winter storm: Snow, blizzards likely from Rockies to Upper Midwest