It has been a wonderful Holiday Season in the American West. A massive winter storm brought heavy snow to the Cascades and Sierra Nevada and is now moving across the Great Basin and into the Rocky Mountain corridor. Higher elevations of the Desert Southwest should also receive significant amounts of snow.
While the storm is a boon to ski resorts, it is far more important that the mountain snowpack will be fortified. After all, that is the source of vital water for all ecosystems across the West, not to mention the water supply for most towns and cities.
As the storm pushes eastward, blizzard conditions will develop across the Northern Plains while tornadic thunderstorms will pummel the Southern Plains. Gulf of Mexico moisture, streaming northward ahead of the cold front, will bring much needed rain across the Mississippi River watershed, a second major benefit of this massive storm system.
