A monster late winter storm packing wind gusts as high as 80 mph — and predicted to rise to the level of a “bomb cyclone” — is expected to wreak havoc across the central US beginning Wednesday, forecasts show.
The storm is forecast to bring heavy rains, severe thunderstorms, heavy snows, high winds and blizzard-like conditions through Friday from the central Rockies, across the Plains into the Mississippi Valley and into the upper Great Lakes.
“We expect a major blizzard to unfold with winds likely to approach hurricane force, heavy snow and massive drifts,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
“The uneven weight of the snow, due to drifting, may cause some flat roofs to fail,” Sosnowski said.
The ferocious storm targeting Colorado to North Dakota is “expected to undergo ‘bombogenesis,’ where the barometric pressure falls very fast,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Brett Rossio.
Such a rapid pressure decrease is defined as a drop of at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.
Kansas could see its all-time record-low barometric pressure set as the center of the storm tracks over the state, according to AccuWeather.
As the storm intensifies, heavy snow is expected from northern Colorado, including Denver, to western Nebraska, central South Dakota and southeastern North Dakota.
The storm could dump between 12 and 18 inches of snow — and as much as 26 inches in parts of the corridor, according to the weather service.
In Colorado, zero visibility is expected with wind gusts of up to 80 mph, according to forecasts.
Cities in the current path of the heaviest area of snow include Cheyenne, Wyoming; Sidney, Nebraska; Pierre, South Dakota; and Fargo, North Dakota.
“On top of the heavy snow, strong winds will lead to blizzard conditions with very low visibility and snow-packed roads,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Steve Travis.
“Anyone with plans to travel across these areas midweek will want to plan ahead for this disruptive storm,” Travis added.
Amid the expected severe weather, more than 1,200 flights within, into or out of the US were canceled as of Wednesday morning, according to the website FlightAware.