Forecasters warned early Saturday that a “significant winter storm” will dump heavy snow and make travel dangerous across the west of the country over the weekend.

The National Weather Service issued a bulletin saying, “High winds, heavy snow, and heavy precipitation will reach the Pacific Northwest today, then impact California.”

More than 5 feet of snow is expected in the Sierra Nevada, making travel “extremely dangerous, especially across mountain passes,” according to the forecast.

The US Forest Service activated a backcountry avalanche watch in the central Sierra, including Tahoe, late Friday and warned of increased avalanche danger Saturday and Sunday.

“A winter storm with gale force winds, high-intensity snowfall and feet of new snow accumulation may result in widespread avalanche activity in the mountains,” the Forest Service Sierra Avalanche Center said Friday.

“Triggering avalanches would be easy on steep slopes in exposed and sheltered areas where new snow rests on top of weak snow or where wind-drifted snow exists near ridges,” it added.

According to the Associated Press, 30 inches of snow was recorded late Thursday night and overnight at Yosemite at the top of Mammoth Mountain ski resort near Mammoth Lakes, the most snow recorded so far in the region.

Elsewhere The NWS forecasts 1-3 feet of snow across west coast mountain ranges.

As the system moved east, the National Weather Service stated that “confidence was unusually high for strong winds and significant snowfall to produce hazardous impacts” across the central and northern plains and into the Midwest beginning Monday night.

According to the National Drought Monitor, heavy rainfall and unsettled weather across the state last week improved drainage basin conditions and soil quality in California, where the drought is still ongoing.

Nonetheless, storms and extreme rainfall during droughts may cause rivers to burst their banks and areas of flash flooding, posing additional risks to commuters and residents in the region, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.