A bomb cyclone brings blizzards to the US midwest before turning east
A strengthening bomb cyclone barreled across the northern US on Monday, unleashing severe winter weather in the midwest as it took aim at the east coast.
The storm brought blizzard conditions, treacherous travel and power outages to parts of the Plains and Great Lakes on Monday as sharply colder air, strong winds and a mix of snow, ice and rain swept through.
Forecasters said the storm intensified quickly enough to meet the criteria of a bomb cyclone, a system that strengthens rapidly as pressure drops.
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Jack, described as a mixed-breed mutt by his owner Shelley, keeps in stride on their afternoon walk in sleet and freezing rain in Manchester, New Hampshire. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
The sharp cold front left parts of the central US waking up on Monday to temperatures as much as 28 degrees colder than the day before.
All that wind and snow created “a pretty significant system for even this part of the country,” Weather Prediction Centre meteorologist Cody Snell said.
Dangerous wind chills plunged as low as minus 34 degrees across parts of North Dakota and Minnesota.
The National Weather Service had warned of whiteout conditions beginning on Sunday that could make travel impossible in some places.
In Iowa, blizzard conditions eased by Monday morning but high winds were still blowing fallen snow across roadways, keeping more than 320 kilometres of Interstate 35 closed.
State troopers reported dozens of crashes during the storm, including one that killed a person.
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Snow is cleared from a parking lot in Grandville, Michigan. AP
Forecasters expect the storm to intensify, fueled by a sharp clash between frigid Canadian air and lingering warmth across the southern United States.
Nationwide, about 350,000 customers were without power on Monday afternoon, more than a third of them in Michigan, according to Poweroutage.us.
Airports reported over 6000 flight delays and around 775 cancellations within the United States.
Snow piled up quickly in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where as much as 0.6 metres fell in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.
Meteorologist Ryan Metzger said additional snow was expected in the coming days, although totals would be far lighter.
Waves on Lake Superior were expected to reach six metres on Monday, sending all but one cargo ship into harbors for shelter, according to MarineTraffic.com.
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Neil Wakeman, a Luna Pier city council member, holds up a steering wheel as he and friends look over a car that is normally submerged in water near Luna Pier in Michigan. Andy Morrison/Detroit News via AP
Weather forecasting on the lakes has improved greatly since the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in 1975 after waves were predicted at up to five metres.
The fierce winds on Lake Erie sent water surging toward the basin’s eastern end near Buffalo, New York, while lowering water on the western side in Michigan to expose normally submerged lakebed, even the wreck of a car and a snowmobile.
The National Weather Service said lake levels had risen to just below 2.4 metres, with the potential to reach 2.7 metres more by late on Monday, due to the strong southwest wind flow, and predicted “significant lakeshore flooding” along the Lake Erie shoreline of Erie and Chautauqua counties as well as along the upper Niagara River.
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A car drives down a snowy main street in downtown Juneau, Alaska. AP
Rain and a wintry mix fell farther east across parts of the northeast.
Freezing rain was reported in northern New York, with the threat extending into Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Forecasters warned the ice and wind could strain power lines and trees.
More than 57,000 power outages were reported across upstate New York on Monday afternoon, utility officials said.
Heavy lake-effect snow and possible whiteouts were forecast on Tuesday for the northwestern part of the state, the National Weather Service said.
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Chase Caruso, center, and his father, Peter Caruso, spread sand on their icy driveway during a freezing rainstorm in Harrison, Maine. AP
On the West Coast, the National Weather Service warned that moderate to strong Santa Ana winds were expected in parts of southern California through to Tuesday, raising concerns about downed trees in areas where soils have been saturated by recent storms.
Two more storms were forecast later this week, with rain on New Year’s Day potentially soaking the Rose Parade in Pasadena for the first time in about two decades.
A weekend snowstorm hit Alaska’s northern panhandle with 38 to 102 centimetres, according to the National Weather Service, keeping the region under a winter storm warning on Monday as Juneau braced for up to 23 centimetres and possible freezing rain.
City facilities were closed and road crews piled snow into towering berms, while communities farther south faced flood watches from snowmelt and heavy rain.
And in central Illinois, an EF1 tornado with peak winds of 158km/h damaged buildings and snapped power poles on Sunday.
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