Storm wreaks havoc in Midwest

A storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" slowly churned through the U.S. interior Thursday 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 Thursday morning. Schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul were among hundreds closing in Minnesota, where as much as 2 feet of snow is expected by today.

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.

Both storms are known as a "bomb cyclone," a weather phenomenon entailing a rapid drop in air pressure and a storm strengthening explosively, according to David Roth, a forecaster at the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.

The latest storm's impacts are likely to be similar to last month's storm, Roth said. That blast dropped heavy snow and led to massive flooding in the Midwest, causing 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.

"We're 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.

Strong winds associated with the weather system were also creating dangerous wildfire and travel conditions in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. The weather service issued a high wind warning for the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.

Winds in excess of 50 mph (80.46 kph) were combining with low humidity and an unstable atmosphere to create critical fire conditions in the three states. Forecasters in New Mexico said the winds also would make travel difficult on north-south oriented roads, such as Interstate 25. In southern New Mexico, the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range closed Wednesday because of the high winds.

Forecasters said this week's storm will swell rivers again, though likely not to the levels seen last month due to the absence of a wet snowpack on frozen ground this time around.

But even moderate rises in the Missouri River will push more water into drenched Fremont County in southwestern Iowa, Emergency Manager Mike Crecelius said. Last month's flooding swamped 455 houses and thousands of acres of farmland in his region.