Just two weeks after areas in the Eastern U.S. were plummeted by a blizzard that left the region blanketed in snow, five states across the Plains and Midwest are under blizzard watch early Monday in advance of Winter Storm Kayla, which is expected to bring heavy snow and high winds throughout the region.
Affected areas are expected to receive at least a foot of snow, these areas include: eastern Nebraska; southeast South Dakota; northern, central and western Iowa; southern Minnesota, including Rochester; Denver, Col.; Omaha, Neb.; and Des Moines, Iowa, according to the Weather Channel.
Despite #blizzard watches, worst of Winter Storm #Kayla likely arrives after #IowaCaucus. https://t.co/ALcoCySLtr pic.twitter.com/zLWltLpYcN
— Jonathan Erdman (@wxjerdman) January 31, 2016
The Midwest blizzard is expected to have a negative on all forms of transportation, just as it did in the east, leading to snarled traffic, as well as flight delays and cancellations at airports in Denver, Minneapolis and Chicago.
Kayla will move throughout the week, already going through southern California, where it left one woman dead and left 80,000 homes and businesses without power. It will move eastward through Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota later in the day before it intesifies Tuesday when it reaches Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, according to Weather Underground.
As the caucus in Iowa is underway, experts believe the system won't greatly impact the process since it is only expected to hit the majority of Iowa Tuesday, only impacting the southwest corner of the Hawkeye State before then.
"The southwest corner of Iowa is most likely where the caucuses will be affected by light snow, but the storm should not impact most places," Weather Channel Lead Meteorologist Kevin Roth told NBC News.
