Just in time to complicate holiday travels, the season’s first big snowstorm is forecast to blow into western Kansas beginning Wednesday.

The National Weather Service offices in Dodge City and Goodland posted blizzard watches Monday for 29 counties from the Colorado line to as far east as Hays. Only the southwestern-most Kansas counties are excluded.

Forecasters expect snow to begin falling in western Kansas sometime early Wednesday and spread eastward throughout the day. Accumulations are expected to vary widely, with some places getting only an inch or two and others up to six inches. Winds gusting over 40 mph are expected to create blizzard conditions.

A half-dozen counties of north-central Kansas are also expected to get a few inches of snow, but without the high winds.