'Bomb Cyclone' Could Hit 70M Americans

Some 70 million residents of the central US may soon come face-to-face with a "bomb cyclone." The rare weather system—the Conversation has a helpful explainer—arrives Wednesday and could bring with it blizzards, tornadoes, and floods. Per CNN, "more than [45 million] people are under a high wind threat; more than 10 million are under winter storm threats; and more than 15 million are under a flood threat." Wind gusts of 50mph to 70mph are expected across Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, while some areas could see hurricane-force gusts of 100mph.

"Travel will be dangerous, if not impossible, at times, across the front range where the blizzard warning has been issued," CNN notes. Blizzard and winter storm warnings have been issued for parts of Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, while flood watches are in effect across the Midwest and Great Plains. The storm will move "eastward through the Central Plains Wednesday and into the Upper Mississippi Valley and Upper Great Lakes region on Thursday," per the National Weather Service. (More winter storm stories.)