Winter Storm

Parts of Arizona remained under a winter storm warning on Monday after a snowstorm snarled traffic and forced the closure of many schools. According to the National Weather Service, heavy snow, particularly around Flagstaff and Prescott, hit much of central and eastern Arizona over the weekend and was expected to continue through Monday. The inclement weather is expected to leave the state by Tuesday -- the day of the vernal equinox , which heralds the official beginning of spring.

The latest in a series of winter storms battered the state, dumping several inches of snow and whipping up strong wind that created whiteout conditions and 3-foot drifts. Authorities closed a long stretch of Interstate 70, from near Denver International Airport almost to the Kansas state line, and a blizzard warning was in effect for much of the eastern and northeastern regions.

A major winter storm moving south through California is expected to bring high winds while dumping rain and snow, helping to ease a drought that officials have warned could develop into one of the worst in modern times. Rain began falling Sunday morning in the Bay Area and moved south, carried by a low-pressure system from the northwest Pacific.

The first in a series of powerful winter storms is expected to pummel Southern California with thunder, rain and cold, gusty winds this morning as the storm track from the Gulf of Alaska bends south into Southern California. Forecasters said that by late afternoon Orange County should get from half an inch to 1 1/2 inches of rain, accompanied by winds. More rain is expected Sunday and Monday with the arrival of a second wintry weather system heading south along the storm track.

The following is a blog documenting two Los Angeles Times editors' attempts to lose weight. It all began on Jan. 10 . One benefit of my move from Boston to Los Angeles this year has been the avoidance of snow.  Not that I mind it.  I like the winter.  But even a veteran of ‘real winter’ can tire of the constant Arctic pummelings.  Like the humongous storm beginning to wreak havoc on a significant part of the country today.  Headlines around the Web are screaming: Monster winter storm takes aim at one-third of US; Life-threatening blizzard is on its way; Snowstorm to bury New England!

A late winter storm chased thoughts of spring out of the Midwest, closing schools and roads. Visibility was cut to zero in parts of Iowa, and schools in Des Moines were closed, as more than 6 inches of snow fell. Snow fell from the Canadian border southward across parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Illinois. Travel on parts of Interstate 35 in Iowa and Interstate 90 in southern Minnesota was reduced to a trickle.

A winter storm picked up steam as it swept through the Plains and pushed farther into the nation's midsection today, unleashing heavy snow and freezing rain and making for extremely hazardous road conditions. The storm system dumped as much as 30 inches of snow in Utah before heading into the Plains. Snowfall today stretched as far east as western Kentucky and Indiana, where up to 10 inches was predicted by Saturday.

A winter storm stretching nearly from Canada to Mexico rolled out of the Rockies on Saturday, sparing Denver another round of heavy snow but trapping drivers farther east in 10-foot drifts. Denver had expected at least a foot of additional snow through today, but the storm trudged northeast from New Mexico into the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. Parts of eastern Colorado still expected up to 2 feet, along with high winds.