Interstates have reopened in North Dakota and South Dakota after a winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of the Upper Midwest.
North Dakota transportation officials today reopened Interstate 94 from Bismarck to Fargo. I-29 was reopened from Grand Forks in North Dakota to Watertown in South Dakota.
When a storm gets very intense very quickly, it gets a very special, very scary name: bomb cyclone.
And just such a storm has arrived in the central U.S.
The powerful system is already bringing high winds, rain and snow to an enormous chunk of the country, including the Rocky Mountains, the Plains, the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes region. The National Weather Service has issued high wind and winter storm advisories for an area ranging from Colorado and New Mexico over to Nebraska and parts of Texas, and up to South Dakota.
“This will be one of the strongest wind events in years for West Texas and Southeast New Mexico,” warned the National Weather Service office in Midland, Texas, with gusts up to 75 miles per hour on Wednesday.
This is good preparation advice for the developing hazardous winter weather, high wind event, and severe weather potential this week. t.co/kkBfC4qAHw
— NWS (@NWS) March 13, 2019
www.npr.org/2019/03/13/702946797/a-bomb-cyclone-is-thwacking-the-central-u-s
1,000+ drivers stranded in Colorado as blizzard paralyzes…
–Click here for a complete list of closures and delays
–Flying out of Denver? Click here for flight information.
–Here are the latest traffic conditions
Snow driven by winds approaching 100 mph shut down schools, highways, air travel and businesses in the Pikes Peak region Wednesday and left more than 1,000 stranded in their cars awaiting rescue.
The rapidly intensifying storm — known as a bomb cyclone — caused whiteout conditions for drivers caught in its fury and prompted the governor to call out the National Guard and El Paso County to declare an emergency.
Officials pleaded with people to stay home and off the roads.
“The more people on the road, the higher likelihood of crashes happening today,” the Colorado State Patrol warned on Twitter. “We are giving you complete permission, 100 percent guaranteed, no questions asked to STAY HOME TODAY.”
NATIONAL GUARD CALLED IN…
Gov. Jared Polis has activated the Colorado National Guard to help rescue drivers who became stranded in Wednesday’s blizzard.
www.9news.com/article/weather/weather-cameras/so-many-colorado-drivers-are-stranded-in-the-blizzard-the-governor-has-asked-the-national-guard-for-help/73-7916f5c8-018a-4e2f-9958-6e4eea5f2f59
Central US blasted with 100-mph winds…
A monster winter storm that slammed the Rockies and central Plains contributed to the death of a Colorado State Patrol corporal on Wednesday, officials report.
The ‘bomb cyclone’ packed blizzard conditions, tropical storm-force winds, and hazardous travel.
The storm turned deadly when a Colorado State Patrol corporal was struck and killed by a vehicle while he was outside helping a car that slid off of Interstate 76 in Weld County, Colo.
A Volvo lost control and ran into Corporal Daniel Groves, 52. Corporal Groves, a veteran of nearly 12 years for the State Patrol, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said on Twitter that Groves will be remembered as a hero.
HISTORIC STORM…
- Winter Storm Ulmer hammered the Rockies and Plains on Wednesday.
- A Colorado State Patrol trooper was hit and killed on a snowy interstate.
- The National Guard was asked to help more than 1,000 stranded drivers on Colorado highways.
- Stretches of Interstates 80, 25, 76 and 70 were closed in parts of Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado.
- Denver International Airport shut down all runways, and more than 1,350 flights were canceled.
weather.com/news/news/2019-03-12-winter-storm-ulmer-impacts-west-northwest-rockies-plains-dakotas