-- The US National Weather Service on Wednesday said a Pacific storm system will continue to impact much of the West and the Sierra-Nevada, bringing rain and mountain snow across the regions.
Resulting strong winds in the Intermountain West, Rockies, and Plains may lead to critical fire weather conditions in the High Plains.
The NWS issued a winter storm warning early Wednesday for parts of California, including Lassen National Park, Chester, Red Bluff, Corning, Quincy, Paradise, Oroville, Blue Canyon, Grass Valley, Placerville, Jackson, Murphys, Sonora, Mariposa, Oakhurst, Fresno, Selma, Visalia, Tulare, and Porterville. The cities' main service providers are Algonquin Power & Utilities' (AQN) Liberty, PG&E's (PCG) Pacific Gas and Electric Co., and Edison International's (EIX) Southern California Edison.
A similar warning was posted for Montana's West Yellowstone, Red Lodge, Livingston, Bozeman and Dillon. The state's electricity providers are NorthWestern Energy (NWE) and MDU Resources' (MDU) Montana-Dakota Utilities.
In Utah, a freeze warning was issued for Duchesne, Price, Nephi, Delta, Manti, Richfield, Milford, Cedar City, and Bryce Canyon National Park, within the service area of PacifiCorp's Rocky Mountain Power.
The agency issued a high wind warning for areas near Montana's Dillon and Bozeman, and for Nevada's Ely and Eureka, primarily served by Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BRK.B) subsidiary NV Energy.
In Wyoming, a similar warning was posted for Bill, Glenrock, Douglas, Glendo, Torrington, Wheatland, Chugwater, Pine Bluffs, Cheyenne, Laramie, Bosler, Centennial, Elk Mountain, Saratoga, Rawlins, Baggs, Muddy Gap, Shirley Basin, and Medicine Bow. Black Hills' (BKH) Black Hills Energy and Rocky Mountain Power are the main service providers in the state.
In Colorado, where Xcel Energy (XEL) and Black Hills Energy are the main electricity providers, Saguache, South Fork, and Alamosa were issued the same warning.
The NWS posted a red flag warning for other cities in Colorado, including Fort Collins, Greeley, Fort Morgan, Akron, Sterling, Julesburg, Boulder, Georgetown, Denver, Deer Trail, Castle Rock, Limon, Woodland Park, Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak, Leadville, Fairplay, Aspen, Buena Vista, Salida, Canon City, Pueblo, Westcliffe, La Veta Pass, San Luis, Trinidad, Ordway, Eads, La Junta, Lamar, Kim, Springfield, Rangely, Meeker, and Craig.
Other parts of Wyoming were also placed under the same warning, including Cody, Greybull, Buffalo, Gillette, Worland, Thermopolis, Riverton, Lander, Dubois, Casper, Rock Springs, Lance Creek, Lusk, Newcastle, Wright, Moorcroft, Sundance, Hulett, Douglas, and Glendo.
In New Mexico, a similar warning was posted for Raton, Clayton, Roy, Taos, Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Moriarty, Santa Rosa, Tucumcari, Clovis, and Portales, primarily served by Xcel Energy and TXNM Energy's (TXNM) PNM.
Arizona's Page, Kayenta, Chinle, Grand Canyon Village, Winslow, Flagstaff, St. Johns, and Show Low were issued the same warning. Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) subsidiary Arizona Public Service primarily serves these cities.
Texas' Dalhart, Dumas, Amarillo, and Hereford, within the service area of Xcel Energy, were placed under the same warning.
The agency also issued a red flag warning for Boise City and Guymon in Oklahoma, where OGE Energy's (OGE) Oklahoma Gas & Electric and American Electric Power's (AEP) Public Service Co. of Oklahoma are the main service providers.
In Kansas, the same warning was posted for Oberlin, St. Francis, Goodland, Colby, Oakley, Tribune, Scott City, Garden City, Ulysses, and Liberal. Evergy (EVRG) and Liberty are the major electricity providers in the state.
In Nebraska, cities under a similar warning include Harrison, Chadron, Alliance, Scottsbluff, Bridgeport, Harrisburg, Kimball, Sidney, Rushville, Oshkosh, Chappell, Valentine, Mullen, Hyannis, Thedford, Arthur, Tryon, Stapleton, Ogallala, Grant, North Platte, Imperial, Stockville, Springview, Ainsworth, Butte, ONeill, Burwell, Brewster, Broken Bow, Kearney, Holdrege, Imperial, and McCook.
The whole of South Dakota, excluding Buffalo, was issued the same warning. The main service providers in the state are Montana-Dakota Utilities, Xcel Energy, Black Hills Energy, NorthWestern Energy, and Otter Tail's (OTTR) power unit.
In North Dakota, a red flag warning was posted for Crosby, Williston, Beulah, Dickinson, Bowman, Elgin, Bimsmarck, Ashley, and Lisbon, mainly served by Montana-Dakota Utilities, Otter Tail Power, and Xcel Energy.
Montana's Plentywood, Glasgow, Malta, Jordan, Winnett, Circle, Sidney, Glendive, Terry, and Miles City were also placed under the same warning.
In Minnesota, cities issued a similar warning were Fergus Falls, Detroit Lakes, Bemidji, Hibbing, Brainerd, Hinckley, Morris, St. Cloud, Willmar, Minneapolis, Mankato, Marshall, Pipestone, Worthington, Windom, Albert Lea, and Austin. Otter Tail Power, Allette (ALE) subsidiary Minnesota Power, Xcel Energy, and Alliant Energy (LNT) are the major service providers in the state.
The NWS issued a flood warning for areas near Washington's Winthrop, served by Puget Sound Energy, and cities close to Missouri's Nevada, within Evergy's service zone.
The same warning was posted for parts of Illinois' Waukegan, Rockford, Freeport, Aurora, Dixon, Clinton, Ottawa, Canton, Havana, Quincy, Carlinville, and Chester. The main electricity providers in these areas are Ameren's (AEE) Illinois unit, Exelon's (EXC) ComEd, and Berkshire Hathaway Energy's MidAmerican Energy.
In Wisconsin, areas near Appleton, Wisconsin Dells, Beaver Dam, Kenosha, and Janesville, were placed under a similar warning. The state's main electricity providers are Xcel Energy, Alliant Energy, MGE Energy's (MGEE) Madison Gas and Electric, and WEC Energy (WEC) subsidiaries, Wisconsin Public Service and We Energies.
In Michigan, areas under the same warning include parts of Petoskey, Traverse City, Houghton Lake, Cadillac, Manistee, Muskegon, Big Rapids, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Houghton, Marquette, Escanaba, Iron Mountain, Menominee, and Newberry. The state is primarily served by CMS Energy's (CMS) Consumers Energy, Upper Peninsula Power, Xcel Energy, and WEC Energy subsidiaries, Upper Michigan Energy Resources and We Energies.
A similar warning was posted for areas near Ohio's Defiance, within the service zone of FirstEnergy's (FE) Toledo Edison, and cities close to Indiana's Fort Wayne, Angola, and Plymouth, mainly served by NiSource's (NI) Northern Indiana Public Service Co.
Areas near Iowa's Clinton, Davenport, Burlington, and Keokuk, mainly served by Alliant Energy, were also placed under the same warning.