Winter Storm Xylia, a Potentially Historic Storm in the Rockies and High Plains,

The storm has been named Winter Storm Xylia (pronounced ZEYE-lee-uh) by The Weather Channel.

Early this week, snow blanketed parts of Wyoming, Nebraska, the Dakotas and Minnesota. A few locations picked up a foot of snow from this appetizer round. But this weekend’s storm will be the main course.

A gyre of low pressure aloft will carve its way into the Southwest and take its time before it moves out early next week. Slow-moving upper lows like this one are notorious Rockies and High Plains snowstorm generators.

The spiraling low will tap deep moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and pump it up the slope of the High Plains into the Front Range of the Rockies, where air just cold enough to support snow will be in place.

This storm is also forecast to produce flooding rain and several days’ worth of severe thunderstorms in other parts of the Plains and Mississippi Valley.

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The Timeline

Some areas of light snow may spread into the Front Range and High Plains of southeast Wyoming and northern Colorado Thursday into Friday.

This may lead to some patchy slippery roads, but otherwise shouldn’t result in significant impact.

Winter Storm Xylia’s heaviest snow will shift into gear late Friday night through Saturday and Sunday before gradually tapering Sunday night and early Monday.

This is when the storm’s most serious and dangerous impacts are expected.

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How Much Snow and Potential Impacts

While it’s still a bit too soon to determine exact snow totals in any given area, there is high confidence that parts of southeast Wyoming, the Nebraska Panhandle and northeast Colorado will pick up at least a foot of snow late Friday into early Monday.

This includes Colorado’s Front Range Urban Corridor of Denver, Fort Collins and Boulder and Wyoming’s capital city, Cheyenne.

Areas with the heaviest snow are likely to measure storm totals in multiple feet.

Snow may fall at the rate of several inches per hour at times Saturday and Sunday.

East to northeast winds will intensify Saturday and persist into Sunday, which could lead to whiteout conditions in open country.

(MORE: Here’s How Many Winter Storms Happen in Spring)

Roads – including stretches of Interstates 25, 70 and 80 – in the High Plains and Front Range are likely to become impassable and may be closed this weekend.

You should avoid all travel in eastern Wyoming, western Nebraska and northeast Colorado from the foothills eastward from late Friday night through Sunday. If not, you run the risk of being stranded.

The combination of wet, heavy snow and strong winds may damage trees and trigger power outages.

The storm also poses a danger to livestock left out in the open.

Historic Snowstorm?

Spring snowstorms are the norm in the High Plains and Front Range of the Rockies each year.

In Cheyenne, Denver and other parts of the High Plains, March is the snowiest month of the year.

But this may not be just another spring snowstorm.

In Cheyenne, Wyoming, Xylia could be its heaviest snowstorm on record. The two-day and three-day snowstorm of record was from November 1979, when just over 25 inches of snow pummeled the city just before Thanksgiving.

In Denver, the National Weather Service tweeted Wednesday that Xylia had a “low to medium potential” to approach the March 2003 historical snowstorm.

That March 17-19, 2003, snowstorm dumped 31.8 inches of snow on the Mile High City, its second heaviest snowstorm dating to 1881, according to the NWS.

According to Storm Data, this heavy, wet snow lead to roof collapses to homes and businesses. At least 258 structures were damaged in Denver.

The weight of the snow tore a gash into the tent roof of Denver International Airport, forcing an evacuation of part of the terminal.

The foothills and mountains west of Denver were buried by 50 to 87 inches of snow. Avalanches closed many foothills and mountain roads, including Interstate 70 in both directions for some time, stranding travelers. Thousands of residents in the foothills of Jefferson County, Colorado were trapped in their homes by snow-choked roads.

Up to 135,000 customers lost power during the storm, some for several days.

The 2003 storm was the costliest snowstorm on record in Colorado, with an estimated $93 million damage.

Check back with us at weather.com for updates to this forecast.

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