Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of six states as unsettled weather in the West is set to bring additional heavy snowfall after a deluge over the weekend.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued alerts for California, Colorado, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming, warning of treacherous travel conditions and strong winds that could bring down tree branches in places.
In its latest forecast, the NWS said that an energetic jet stream from the Pacific Ocean and the arrival of another front would maintain the wintry weather over the northern West Coast in the coming few days.
"Additional heavy higher elevation, mountain snowfall is expected over the southern Cascades into the northern Sierra through Monday," the forecast said. "Moisture spreading inland will help enhance snowfall over portions of the northern Great Basin Monday and into the northern Rockies Tuesday as well, particularly for southern Idaho into western Wyoming."
The weather agency added that, while much of the snow would be limited to mountain areas, portions of southern Oregon will likely see a few inches of valley snow.
A powerful winter storm from the Pacific Ocean brought in excess of 12 feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada range, as well as several feet of snow and blizzard conditions to higher-elevation regions of neighboring states.
Another winter storm made landfall earlier in the 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 southwestern Oregon, up to an additional 14 inches of snow and winds of 50 miles an hour are expected. In the Cascades, an additional 30 inches of snow accumulations could form.
In northern California, up to 28 inches of snow and winds gusting as high as 50 miles an hour are anticipated. The Sierra Nevada mountains are set to receive up to a further 9 inches of snow north of the I-80.
A blizzard warning remains in place for Mono County until Monday morning.
Up to 4 inches of snow is set to fall on the Central and Uinta mountains of Utah. In northwest and central Colorado, up to 8 inches of snowfall is forecast, with winds as high as 40 miles an hour causing areas of blowing snow.
This will continue into southern Wyoming, where a further 3 inches of snow in the Sierra Madre and Snowy ranges is expected. Outdoor recreation in the area "could become life-threatening" to those caught in the storm, the NWS said.
Meteorologists added that a cold front extending southwest from the Great Lakes into the Plains would allow for strong winds causing areas of blowing snow in northern North Dakota, with the chance of freezing rain in parts.
Winds of up to 45 miles an hour and additional snow accumulations of an inch are anticipated into Monday morning.
The NWS said that the weather front would also bring locally heavy rainfall on the Pacific Northwest coastline into California.
A pair of powerful atmospheric river storms from the Pacific Ocean brought widespread flooding to California earlier in the month.
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Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more
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