Rocky Mountain storm to bury Midwest

Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A brutal winter storm is sweeping across the central United States, burying large swaths of the country in snow and hitting the northern Rockies and Plains with freezing temperatures.

The storm has already dumped more than 15 inches of snow in some parts of the northern Rockies since Sunday, with more to come. Officials have closed sections of I-90 and I-80 in Wyoming, while travel in northern Idaho, western Montana and portions of I-15 is considered hazardous.

Areas as far west as Nevada are expecting heavy snow on Tuesday and Tuesday night, dropping as much as two feet in high-altitude areas of Colorado, a foot in Utah and Wyoming, and six inches east of the Rockies.

Temperatures as low as minus-12 degrees with wind chill and highs hovering around zero degrees could plague parts of North Dakota and Montana, bringing a mass of cold air to the rest of the Plains and Midwest into Friday.

[The Weather Channel] [Accuweather] [NBC News]