A raging snowstorm and even a blizzard are on the way from the east slopes of the Colorado Rockies to part of the central Plains to end the week.

AccuWeather.com meteorologists continue to monitor the progress of a “High Plains Drifter” still in the developing stages.

Intermittent snow around Denver today will turn heavy this evening, resulting in deteriorating travel conditions.

Snow will continue to streak northeastward followed by increasing winds, low visibility, large snowdrifts and poor travel spreading from eastern Colorado to southwestern and central Nebraska to northwestern Kansas. In some areas the storm will begin as rain.

Boulder, Denver and Sterling in Colorado, Grand Island, McCook and North Platte in Nebraska and Goodland in Kansas will be in the heart of the storm with a foot of snow possible. A few locations within this swath can pick up a bit more.

A larger version of this map is available on the AccuWeather.com Winter Weather Center.

Accumulating snow will eventually reach into eastern Nebraska and much of Iowa as well, following rain. In the swath from Omaha to Des Moines the changeover to snow will begin later Friday night. By Saturday night at least a half a foot of snow will be on the ground. In these areas, the first part of the snow will be more wet, but blowing and drifting snow is still possible later in the storm as temperatures fall off and winds pick up.

Travel along the long stretches of I-25, I-70, I-76 and I-80 in the region will become slow to difficult spanning tonight into Saturday.

It is possible roads and highways will close for a time at the height of the storm, while timeliness of departing flights at Denver International Airport will be challenged due to drifting snow and whiteout conditions.

As expected, the storm has been modest thus far with a few inches of fresh powder falling on portions of the Bitterroots, Tetons, Wasatch and Colorado Rockies over the past couple of days.

The storm will reorganize and strengthen over the South Central states tonight into Saturday, raising strong winds, pushing temperatures downward and causing rain to change to snow in the east over a portion of the central Plains.

A storm of this size, with energy and moisture available, has the potential to deliver the heaviest snow of the winter, especially in light of how the season has evolved for the central Plains.

The storm will stay south of most of the northern Plains and a push of dry air should prevent the storm’s moisture from reaching the Great Lakes region.

The snowstorm is forecast to stay north of Kansas City. However, motorists heading north along I-29 or I-35 will run into a mess over Nebraska and Iowa later Friday night and Saturday.

The storm system will bring not only drenching rain to portions of the South Central states, but also severe thunderstorms, especially in parts of Texas and Oklahoma.

The upcoming general snowstorm and local blizzard just goes to show how quickly the weather can change over the Plains. During Monday and Tuesday, temperatures soared into the 60s over much of the region.