Winter Storm Brings Rare Blizzard In California, Hundreds Of Thousands Without Power In Michigan

A  Severe winter storm that has ravaged states from the west to the east coast for 2,600 miles moved into areas of Pennsylvania, New York, and New England. Early on Wednesday, the storm shut down highways, caused more than 1,000 aircraft cancellations, and left more than 100,000 Californian homes without electricity. This week, residents of the western states and the Plains have already seen several days of severe winter weather; they may experience blizzard conditions and substantial precipitation. Meanwhile, as the storm moves eastward across the nation, hazardous conditions are developing as snow and sleet make their way to the Northeast and an ice storm tears through many Midwestern states. The Midwest saw hundreds of thousands of outages by Wednesday night.

Michigan Homes are left in the dark by an ice storm:

Poweroutage.us reports that more than 579,000 households and businesses were left without power on Wednesday night as the unusual winter storm's thick ice tore down tree branches and power lines around the state.

Blizzard conditions scattered across the West, Midwest, and Minnesota could break snow records:

The storm was most severe in the northern states. In Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas, there were closures of offices, schools, and public facilities. The National Weather Service in Riverton, Wyoming predicted that snowfall would amount to up to a foot and that gusts might reach 50 mph. The weather agency issued a warning that certain places will be impassable for transport and that frostbite on exposed skin can develop in as little as 30 minutes with wind chills as low as 35 below zero.An early Thursday morning winter storm warning was still in place for sections of Nebraska and Wyoming, with up to 15 inches of snow forecast. It was predicted that wind chills might drop as low as 40 below zero. Also, a wind chill advisory was in force in several areas of Colorado from Wednesday evening into Thursday. It was predicted that there will be a lot of snow with wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Up to a foot of snow and wind gusts of 60 mph were predicted for certain areas of Utah. On Wednesday, the snow is anticipated to stop falling in the area and move south.

Rare blizzard warnings in California:

According to poweroutage.us, unusual blizzards and winter weather struck Southern California on Wednesday, knocking out electricity in more than 100,000 homes. More than 45,500 consumers in the state remained lacked energy as of Wednesday evening. During the next days, snowfall and subfreezing temperatures were predicted. Mountain dwellers in Los Angeles and Ventura County have been cautioned to only travel in an emergency. By Saturday night, 2 to 7 feet of snow were forecast to have fallen with winds up to 75 mph. Winter storm warnings were in force for areas of San Diego County, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, and the Bay Area, where temperatures dropped below freezing.