We are still a week away from the official arrival of spring, but Old Man Winter is not going away quietly. A severe winter storm is expected to dump several feet of snow in some states across much of the northern United States.
A potential bomb cyclone is swirling over the Great Lakes region as Wisconsin and Michigan brace for up to three feet of snow. However, two states due west are expected to bear the brunt of the severe winter storm.
Idaho braces for 5 feet of snow, Montana braces for more than 4 feet
The National Weather Service has issued a new series of winter storm warnings as a new atmospheric river brings heavy snow to the Northern Rockies.
“Meanwhile, an active atmospheric river pattern across the Pacific Northwest into the northern Rockies will continue to bring low-elevation/coastal rain and high-elevation snow over the next few days. Additional snowfall totals will be as high as two to four feet in the Olympic/Cascades and northern Rockies through the weekend,” the National Weather Service said.
(Photo by Kena Betancur/Photo by Kena Betancur/AFP (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
((Photo by Kena Betancur/AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Idaho: While the National Weather Service caps the national forecast at four feet, the local NWS Missoula office is expecting up to five feet of snow in Dixie, Idaho. “Snow totals range from 3 to 8 inches at lower elevations and 2 to 5 feet above 5,000 feet,” the report said, with 40 mph winds making travel conditions “difficult or impossible.”
People in the area are told to expect significant disruption to normal activities and travel conditions to become hazardous or impossible. Residents are warned to postpone all travel to affected areas if possible and told to expect widespread closures and infrastructure disruptions.
Montana: Elevations of more than four feet are expected in Montana’s Crazy Mountains and near Cooke City in Yellowstone National Park. “Snow totals range from one to four feet, with locally higher totals possible,” the National Weather Service’s Billings office said of the snowfall in the Crazy Mountains.
Local levels in Cooke City may also be higher, prompting a troubling warning from the National Weather Service. “Highland recreational activities will be severely impacted by heavy accumulations and blowing snow. Widespread blowing snow may significantly reduce visibility. Avalanche danger is expected to increase over the next few days,” the report said.
A winter storm warning is expected to remain in effect until Sunday afternoon.
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This article was originally published by Men’s Journal on March 13, 2026, and first appeared in the News section. Click here to add Men’s Diary as your go-to source.
