A storm system known as a bomb cyclone slowly churned through the U.S. interior today for the second time in a month, unleashing a blizzard in parts of the Midwest while creating hazardous fire conditions farther south.
As much as 18 inches of snow has fallen in parts of South Dakota, where Gov. Kristi Noem has closed state offices in much of the state for a second day as heavy snow and strong winds make travel conditions dangerous.
Whiteout conditions were reported in northwest Kansas and western Nebraska, where the Department of Transportation closed several highways this morning. Schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul were among hundreds that closed in Minnesota, where as much as 2 feet of snow is expected by Friday.
The Minnesota State Patrol said it has responded to more than 200 crashes statewide since Wednesday.
The storm knocked out power Wednesday to thousands of homes and businesses in South Dakota, disrupted air and ground travel from Colorado to Minnesota, and threatened to swell rivers in the Midwest that flooded after Marchs drenching.
Both storms are known as a bomb cyclone, a weather phenomenon that entails a rapid drop in air pressure and a storm strengthening explosively, according to David Roth, a forecaster at the National Weather Services Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.
The latest storms impacts are likely to be similar to last months storm, Roth said. That blast dropped heavy snow and led to massive flooding in the Midwest that caused billions of dollars in damage in Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and South Dakota.
Hopefully this time it will be a slow snowmelt, Roth said.
Particularly hard hit by the storm were eastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota. Winds in excess of 50 mph also were expected, creating life-threatening conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
Were calling it historic because of the widespread heavy snow. We will set some records, said Mike Connelly, a weather service meteorologist in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
Transportation officials closed Interstate 29 from east central South Dakota to the North Dakota border, as well as a 270-mile section of Interstate 90 between Rapid City and Mitchell, South Dakota. Numerous traffic crashes were reported in northeastern South Dakota, and the storm knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses in Sioux Falls.
In Colorado, officials closed a 150-mile stretch of Interstate 76 from just northeast of Denver to the Nebraska border.
