Winter Storm Warnings Announced as Over 4 Feet of Snow, 80 mph Winds Emerge

Spring officially starts in just over a week, but the National Weather Service (NWS) continues to issue winter storm warnings for areas of the country starting on Thursday, March 12, and running through Saturday, March 14.

Winter isn't leaving at least six states in the U.S. being hit with winter storm warnings and watches from the National Weather Service, including Michigan, Washington, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin. Two of those states will see heavy snowfall of one to four feet: Montana and Washington.

Montana Facing More Than 4 Feet of Snow, Additional in Michigan, Wisconsin

The National Weather Service issued a new series of winter storm warnings on Thursday, March 12, that predict more than four feet of snowfall in Montana, while Washington is bracing for one to three feet of snow.

The winter storm warnings in Montana run through Friday, March 13, in Washington, while they'll run all the way through Saturday, March 14, in Montana.

According to a report from the experts at AccuWeather, "A fast-moving clipper storm will bring damaging winds from the Rockies to the Northeast Thursday into Friday while spreading accumulating snow across the northern tier. At the same time, elevated to high wildfire risk will develop across parts of the central United States due to dry air, strong winds and limited winter precipitation."

They add that high winds will be a factor, with local wind gusts of 60 mph to 80 mph expected throughout northern Montana to the Colorado Rockies and even 115 mph winds possible at times. Areas of Indiana, Ohio and southern Michigan are also looking at 40 mph to 70 mph wind gusts through Friday, March 13.

"An intense clipper-like system will bring a swath of moderate to heavy snow across the Upper Great Lakes Thursday night," the NWS said in a statement. They added that a "widespread high wind event" is expected from the northern Rockies to the Upper Midwest on Thursday, March 12. According to their research, "the deepening low pressure will lead to widespread very strong winds from the Rockies east across the northern Plains, with gusts as high as 70 to 80 mph possible," with 75 mph being the average.

The positive news is that spring is on the way, with the NWS stating that a "prolonged period of well above average conditions will begin across portions of the western U.S. heading into the weekend as persistent upper-level ridging settles in."

The first day of spring, known as the Spring Equinox, is set for March 20 at 10:46 a.m. EDT, according to the Farmer's Almanac. "This falls on a Friday and is the astronomical beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumn season in the Southern Hemisphere," the Almanac adds. Live Science also notes that "because equinoxes are global events governed by Earth's tilted axis relative to the sun, the March equinox occurs at the same moment across the globe."