'Biggest snowstorm' of year possible in North; Midwest, South brace for more tornadoes: Monday recap

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Forecasters warned Monday of the nation's biggest potential snowstorm of the year across a wide swath of the northern U.S., while parts of the Midwest and South are bracing for another round of damaging tornadoes.

Almost 50 million Americans are already at risk for severe storms and potential tornadoes Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. Cities such as Chicago, Kansas City, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma, St. Louis and Des Moines, Iowa, are all in the risk area. The storms "could pose a risk for a few strong tornadoes, large hail and damaging wind gusts," the prediction center said. 

The prediction center also said "dangerous nighttime tornadoes" are possible Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning. Nighttime tornadoes are twice as likely to be deadly as daytime tornadoes.

Many cities and towns are recovering from a surge of severe storms that resulted in dozens of confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eight states and 32 deaths.

Meanwhile, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming are among the states that will face the brunt of a winter storm brewing from Monday to Wednesday that could break April snow records, the National Weather Service warned. Up to 30 inches of snow was possible in portions of South Dakota, the weather service in Rapid City said. 

"Strong winds and heavy snow will create whiteout conditions and significant drifting snow," the weather service said, adding that the result could be "dangerous to impossible driving conditions and considerable disruptions to daily life."

Developing:

►The weather service confirmed that EF-3 tornadoes with winds of up to 165 mph touched down in Wynne, Arkansas, and in Covington and Adamsville, Tennessee, on Friday and Saturday. 

►The weather service office in Chicago said at least 16 tornadoes have been confirmed in the area so far, and damage surveys were ongoing.

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16 states face possible tornadoes days after scores strafed nation

At least 16 states, most in the Midwest and South, are at risk for severe weather and tornadoes on Tuesday, AccuWeather reported.

"The combination of warm, moist air and strong winds from the ground on up through the jet stream level of the atmosphere will allow for numerous severe thunderstorms as well as tornadoes," AccuWeather meteorologist Andrew Johnson-Levine said.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed portions of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri in a "moderate" risk zone for severe weather Tuesday. This is Level 4 of its 5-level severe risk scale. 

Nearly 100 preliminary tornado reports were being investigated by the prediction center after the wild storms that swept across much of the Midwest and East on Friday and Saturday. As of Monday morning, the weather service has confirmed 66 tornadoes.

Battered Arkansas braces for more storms

Arkansas awaited more storms even as it remained in recovery mode from storms and tornadoes late last week that claimed five lives. Four of the deaths were in the city of Wynne, where homes and businesses were battered across the community of 8,000 people, 50 miles west of Memphis. 

In Little Rock, Mayor Frank Scott said 50 people were injured and almost 3,000 homes, businesses and other structures were damaged, most by one tornado that tore a 6.5- mile path through west Little Rock.

The weather service in Little Rock said severe weather was possible once again across the state from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning.

"Damaging winds, tornadoes and large hail are all possible," the weather service warned. "Be sure to have a plan in place before severe weather occurs. Know your safe place!"

Fire danger also high on Tuesday

The threat of fire danger remains high Tuesday across portions of far western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, northeast New Mexico and far southeastern Colorado, with low humidity, dry vegetation and wind gusts expected up to 70 mph, according to the weather service.

Rockies to get heavy snow

The Pacific Northwest began to see snowfall over the weekend, and a winter storm was moving across the central and northern Rockies, dropping heavy snow all day Monday.

"A few feet of snow is possible across the higher terrain of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, with lower elevations also seeing heavy snowfall amounts up to a foot," the weather service said.

Snow was already falling across Utah on Monday. Ogden, Utah, had picked up a foot of snow by Monday morning, the weather service reported.  

Some areas could have "difficult to impossible" driving conditions Monday.

'Biggest snowstorm of the year' sparks blizzard warnings in Dakotas 

The storm was forecast to bring blizzard conditions Monday night, "setting the stage for what could be the biggest snowstorm of the year across parts of the northern Plains." AccuWeather said wind gusts could reach up to 60 mph. The weather service said wind chills below zero "could be life-threatening to anyone stranded outdoors."

"This next storm will be a classic spring blizzard," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Joe Lundberg said.

Blizzard warnings were issued across much of the Dakotas, northern Nebraska and eastern Wyoming as well as northwestern Minnesota. The warnings were set to begin late Monday and last through at least Tuesday night in many areas.

From 10-20 inches of snow is expected in Bismarck, North Dakota. That should break the city's all-time record for snowiest season on record, which was 101.6 inches, set in 1996-97.

In addition to the snow, the storm will produce wind chills near or below zero during the blizzard conditions in the northern Plains, which could be life-threatening to anyone stranded outside, the weather service warned. 

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Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.