Parts of Colorado and Wyoming were hit with a powerful spring storm that brought in cold temperatures and a sloppy mix of rain and snow on Mother's Day, the Associated Press reported.
While powerful thunderstorms moving through Nebraska produced damaging tornadoes, wild weather dumped a freak snow storm on the Rockies and sent tornadoes rampaging through the Midwest, ABC News reported.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for most of northern Colorado and parts of southern Wyoming for all of Sunday and for Monday morning.
Eastern Iowa and Nebraska were also warned by forecasters of developing strong thunderstorms and possible tornadoes. There was a moderate risk of severe weather in the area starting Sunday afternoon and continuing into Sunday night, the weather service said.
In Colorado, snow amounts could vary greatly, but up to 15 inches could fall at higher elevations and 4 to 9 inches could fall at lower elevations, including Denver and other cities along Colorado's Front Range, according to the AP.
"If we see the total accumulations that we are anticipating from this storm, we are certainly going to see a top 10 May snow event for the Denver metro area," said David Barjenbruch, a weather service meteorologist in Boulder.
Since Sunday morning had already experienced a foot of snow in the foothills of Larimer County northwest of Denver, Barjenbruch said workers along much of the Front Range can expect a "slushy, sloppy morning commute" Monday.
Power failures could also occur if tree limbs and power lines snapped due to heavy snow, the weather service said. Winds gusting up to 30 mph could reduce visibility, and slushy roads could be treacherous to drive.
Spring-like weather was expected to return to the Rockies by Tuesday, with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-50s in Denver, the high 40s in Cheyenne and the low 40s in Laramie.
