Winter Storm

Winter Storm Nyla Brought Wind-Driven Snow To Plains, Upper Midwest, Including Blizzard Conditions (RECAP)

The winter storm tracked from the mountain West to the Plains and upper Midwest with snowfall and high winds, contributing to whiteout conditions in some areas.

Where To Watch For Rounds Of Snow And Ice

Winter Storm Nyla spread snowfall across the mountain West region before unleashing wind-driven snowfall through parts of the Plains and upper Midwest in mid-March 2025, resulting in blizzard conditions in some areas.

(MORE: Why Winter Storms Are Named)

The winter storm first dropped over 20 inches of snow on California's Sierra Nevada on March 17. From there, it spread through the Great Basin and Rockies by March 18, with eastern parts of the Salt Lake City metro seeing a half-foot or more of snowfall.

On March 19, Nyla brought heavy snowfall and strong winds to Central Plains and upper Midwest, from northwest Kansas and eastern Nebraska to northwest Iowa, southeast Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Some locations in this swath saw 6 inches or more of snowfall in a narrow strip.

Estimated snowfall from Nyla March 17-19, 2025.

Strong winds affected a broad area of the Plains and Midwest, including areas that didn't see snow from the storm.

Winds gusted over 60 mph from eastern Colorado to Texas into Nebraska and western Missouri. Two locations in the Texas Panhandle - east of the towns of Lora and Miami - clocked 87 mph gusts before dawn on March 18. Dozens of other locations clocked gusts over 70 mph, including Lincoln, Nebraska (74 mph).

Power lines were reported downed across Grand Island, Nebraska, and about 250,000 customers were without power at one point on March 19 due to the storm from Texas to Iowa and Illinois, according to poweroutage.us.

Blizzard conditions prompted a closure of Interstate 70 early on March 19 from just east of Denver to Salina, Kansas. In Nebraska, parts of Interstate 80 were also shut down west of Omaha to North Platte because of the storm. One section near Gretna, Nebraska, was closed due to downed power lines. Interstate 29 was closed from north of Council Bluffs to south of Sioux City, Iowa.

If that wasn't enough, the heavy snowfall was, at times, accompanied by thunder and lightning, as dust transported over 1,300 miles from northern Mexico and Texas gave skies a brownish tinge in Iowa.

Here's a listing of some of the top snow totals in each state across the Plains and upper Midwest: