Winter Weather Impact on Operations

Announcement Number: CN2023-15
Categories: General Announcements
Posted Date: March 7, 2023

To Our Customers,

Various weather systems are forecast to impact our network in northern California, eastern Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Following is an operations update by region:

  • California – A strong atmospheric river will impact northern California, beginning Thursday and into the weekend, bringing heavy rain and snow to the region. Heavy rainfall of 2-4 inches is expected across the central and northern California Coastal Ranges and the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The greatest rainfall totals of 4-8 inches will occur across the western slopes of the central and northern Sierra Nevada. Heavy snow of 12-24 inches will begin Friday night and continue through Saturday above 6,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada.
  • Midwest – A winter storm is expected to traverse portions of the Central Rockies into the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest late this week, bringing heavy snow. Snow will begin falling across portions of the eastern Wyoming early Thursday morning, spreading into Nebraska by early Thursday afternoon. Snow will expand into Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Illinois by Thursday evening. The highest accumulations of 12-18 inches can be expected across portions of northern Iowa and southwestern Wisconsin.

We will continue to mitigate impacts to our operations over the coming days and adhere to our winter action protocols to respond quickly and safely to any service disruptions. Customers with shipments moving through the impacted states should anticipate delays between 24 to 48 hours. For customers with rail-served facilities located in the affected area, please continue to clear all walkways and switches of snow and ice prior to the crew arriving. To get more winter weather preparedness tips, visit Winter Weather Action Plan for Rail Shippers.

If you have any questions, please contact Customer Care & Support at 800-272-8777 or your Union Pacific representative.