Rockies Hit by Two Feet of Snow; Midwest, South Bask in Heat Wave

A wintry storm Saturday packing high winds brought up to two feet of snow to the Rockies on its way to the Plains. But the Midwest and South basked in a spring heat wave that set record highs in 23 cities across 11 states.

Temperatures reached a summery 90 degrees in Atlanta and 89 in Springfield, Ill. Readings in the 80s and 90s Friday set records in 18 cities in eight Midwestern and Southern states, the National Weather Service said.

The storm blanketed parts of Colorado with 11 inches of snow and Alta, Utah, with two feet of snow, the weather service said.

Roads were snowpacked and slushy in the Colorado mountains, a state patrol dispatcher said.

Winter storm warnings were posted across the western and northern mountain areas of Wyoming and for much of western Montana. Eight to 12 inches of snow were possible in the higher elevations of southeastern Montana, eastern Wyoming and South Dakota, the weather service said.

Livestock advisories were issued in North Dakota and Nebraska for cold temperatures and 15 m.p.h. to 35 m.p.h. winds. Young and newborn livestock were particularly threatened, the weather service said.

Morning lows dipped into the 20s and 30s in the northern Rockies.

“It’s chilly in the Northwest and much of the Great Basin, and the cooler air will be spilling over into the Rockies and the Northern Plains,” weather service meteorologist Scott Tansey said.

High wind warnings were posted for the Southwest and Rockies, where winds reached 60 m.p.h.

Thunderstorms backed by high winds doused lower Michigan with heavy rain that caused minor street flooding. Lightning sparked fires and disrupted power to some areas. Winds were clocked at 52 m.p.h. at Grand Rapids, Mich.