USA TODAY International Edition
More than 20 million take cover from coast- to- coast winter blitz
Brutal cold, blasting wind sweep across northern US
A brutal winter storm that stretched 2,600 miles coast to coast battered states from the West to the East Coast and moved into parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New England.
The storm knocked out power to more than 100,000 households in California, shuttered highways and prompted more than 1,000 flight cancellations.
Residents in western states and the Plains have faced severe winter weather for several days already this week and may see blizzard conditions and significant snowfall. And as the storm barreled across the country, dangerous conditions were landing farther east as an ice storm sliced across several Midwestern states and snow and sleet reached the Northeast.
More than 20 million Americans were under a winter storm warning as of Wednesday, and an additional 35 million were under a winter weather advisory.
The storm hit northern states the hardest. Schools, offices and government buildings closed in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas.
A blizzard warning was in effect in part of Wyoming. Snow accumulations were expected to reach up to a foot, and winds were gusting up to 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Riverton, Wyoming.
The weather service warned that travel would be impossible in some areas, and frigid wind chills as low as 35 degrees below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
A blizzard warning was also in place for parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota, with winds gusting up to 50 mph. Wind chills could drop as low as 45 degrees below zero, carrying the risk of frostbite in as little as 10 minutes.
Minnesota could see “recordsmashing” snow totals approaching
2 feet as blizzard and whiteout conditions made travel nearly impossible and threatened scattered power outages. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had declared a “peacetime emergency” on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service Twin Cities called the winter storm “historic” and said that by the time snowfall ended late Thursday, some areas could see close to 2 feet of snow.
West not out of the woods
Major winter weather isn’t done with the West yet this week.
In parts of Nebraska and Wyoming, a winter storm warning was in place through early Thursday, with snow of up to 15 inches expected. Wind chills were set to reach as low as 40 below.
And in parts of Colorado, a wind chill advisory was in effect into Thursday. Heavy snow was expected alongside wind gusts that could reach up to 45 mph.
In parts of Utah, up to a foot of snow was expected with wind gusts of 60 mph.
Blizzard warnings in California
Southern California was hit Wednesday by rare blizzards and winter weather, and more than 100,000 households lost power, according to poweroutage. us.
Snow and freezing temperatures were forecast for the next few days. Los Angeles and Ventura County residents living in the mountains were warned to travel only for emergencies. Wind was expected to gust up to 75 mph, and 2 to 7 feet of snow was expected by Saturday night.
Meanwhile, the Bay Area saw subfreezing temperatures, and winter storm advisories were in effect for San Bernardino and Riverside counties, as well as parts of San Diego County.
Northeast in the crosshairs
Snow was expected to hit the interior Northeast and New England into Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Parts of Pennsylvania were under a winter weather advisory beginning early Wednesday.
A winter weather advisory also was in place until Thursday afternoon in parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York. Residents could see a mix of up to four inches of snow, sleet and freezing rain. Ice accumulations were expected to reach to about one tenth of an inch.
Highways shut down
Several key highways were expected to close across the country amid blizzard conditions, AccuWeather forecast. Wyoming shut down large portions of I- 80 on Wednesday “due to winter conditions,” including drifting snow, strong winds and black ice. The state was expected to see wind chills as cold as minus 40 degrees and snowfall of up to a foot in some areas.
Parts of highways in Arizona, including I- 40, State Road 87 and US- 180, also were closed Wednesday.