Major Winter Storm Brewing For Southwestern U.S.
 

By Sean Morris, CNN
Updated 12:18 AM EST, Sun December 18, 2011

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Between 12 and 15 inches of snow is expected to fall on portions of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.


An early season winter storm is brewing in the Southwest and is expected to bring blizzard conditions and heavy snow accumulations of over a foot to the southern High Plains on Monday, making travel across the region dangerous, if not impossible.

Winter storm watches were issued by the National Weather Service on Saturday for much of New Mexico, the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, extreme northwestern Oklahoma, southeastern Colorado, and southwestern and south-central Kansas.

Between 12 and 15 inches of snow is expected to fall on portions of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles bringing near-blizzard-like conditions to the area Monday.

The heaviest snowfall and strongest winds are expected Monday morning through Monday night and Tuesday, the weather service said.
North winds of 20 to 30 mph will accompany the snow for much of the storm. Frequent wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph will also be possible, according to the weather service.

A blizzard watch or warning may be considered for the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles in future forecasts, the weather service said. A blizzard watch is in effect for eastern New Mexico where as much as 8 inches of snow, combined with winds gusting to 45 mph, will likely cause whiteout conditions across the region Monday.