More than 300K without power across Northwest, Rockies as coast-to-coast storm packs powerful winds

A massive coast-to-coast storm is charging across the country, packing hurricane-force wind gusts, and will impact more than 30 states by the end of the week.This comes as more people hit the roads and head to airports, with the holidays quickly approaching.This powerful storm is approaching the Midwest after powerful wind gusts left hundreds of thousands of customers without power across the Pacific Northwest, Northern Plains, and the Rockies on Wednesday.

 Numerous wind gusts in excess of 100 mph have been reported across the Intermountain West and Northern Plains since Wednesday, including a 144 mph gust on Mount Coffin, Wyoming.A wind gust of 78 mph on Wednesday set a new December wind record in Glasgow, Montana. Two children were critically injured in Twin Falls, Idaho, on Wednesday, after high winds toppled rotting trees onto them while they were waiting for the bus, officials said.The sheriff’s department in Kootenai County, Idaho, said a falling tree killed a man sleeping in his home in Fernan Lake Village on Wednesday afternoon and warned people to stay away from large trees during high wind events.High winds also drove the spread of several large wildfires in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado on Wednesday.Evacuations were issued as a wildfire grew to at least 200 acres in Pennington County, South Dakota.Wildfires outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and a massive blaze that reached 40,000 acres in Yuma County, Colorado, also prompted evacuations on Wednesday.More than 100,000 customers were without power across Colorado early Thursday as strong wind gusts continued to pound the state.High Wind and Fire Weather Warnings will remain across the Intermountain West on Thursday as dry air rushes in to fill the space behind the storm.Meanwhile, high winds and heavy rain exacerbated last week’s historic flooding in Washington. Powerful wind gusts compounded the existing power outages caused by the ongoing flooding across Washington early Wednesday. A 71 ...