Brace Yourself

Like Cody said, things are just going to go downhill from Wednesday on, so if you can head out early on those Christmas family trips, do so today! The closer we get to having this storm occur, the worse and worse the models look. So since Cody bumped up my snow forecast due to the continuation of how bad this storm looks, and I'm doing the same thing for the same reason, some models are even giving us 17-20 inches of snow, I think those models are a bit high, but it's not completely out of the question. It really looks like the gulf is going to open up to provide a whole lot of moisture to our entire region. There could even be flooding in some portions of Iowa and Missouri due to all the rain they are going to get. Things are just not going to be good for travelers, especially those heading to Nebraska and to Minnesota because that's the progression of this storm. To show just how big of a system this is going to be and how broad it's going to span... here's a look at all of the watches and warnings around the nation for this system already:

I expect the National Weather Service to add even more winter storm warnings into the rest of Nebraska, portions of Iowa and into Minnesota over the next 24 hours. And with winds expected to be in the 25-35mph range, so I wouldn't be shocked to see near white out conditions to make it feel more like a blizzard through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Thus why Cody and I are urging you to travel today if you can at all. Maybe even stay an extra day after Christmas Day just to let the sky and road conditions clear up. This system is definitely capable of causing several accidents on the roads for those who go out, please make sure you have water, food, blankets and extra clothing and a winter survival kit in your car if you MUST travel during this storm. And keep that cell phone charged!

Stay safe during this storm, and catch Cody's forecast at 5, 6 and 10 tonight for more updates on this imminent storm.

~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka