A man was killed and children waiting for a bus were critically injured in extreme winds in the Northwest that forecasters warn will travel eastward across the country, knocking out power and damaging buildings through the end of the week.
The winds hitparts of the rain-battered Pacific Northwestand Idaho the morning of Dec. 17 with gusts over 100 mph in some places, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, AccuWeather reported. The death and injuries were reported in Idaho on Dec. 17.
More than 78 million Americans were under wind advisories across parts of the Midwest and Northeast on Dec. 18. Millions more were under high wind watches and warnings in the central part of the country.
The National Weather Service said winds on Dec. 18 will bring gusts of 50 to 80 mph across the Northern and Central Plains and Central Rockies. At the same time, a "powerful" low pressure system will bring light to moderate snowfall that will combine with winds to create whiteout conditions in the Northern Plains, the weather service said.
The storm system will push east, bringing wind gusts up to 60 mph, heavy rain and lake effect snow to the Northeast by Dec. 19, the weather service said.
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"This may lead to scattered power outages, tree damage, and delayed travel times," the weather service said.
The winds could also bring an elevated fire risk to the eastern Plains and Rockies, where low humidity and dry brush abound, AccuWeather meteorologists said.
1 dead, 2 critically injured as Idaho battered by winds
A man was killed in Fernan Lake Village, Idaho, a small town of about 160 people just outside Coeur d'Alene, the morning of Dec. 17 when a tree fell onto a home, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office said. The 55-year-old man was sleeping when the tree fell onto the home and struck the bed, the sheriff's office said. Others in the house were trapped and able to be rescued.
In Twin Falls County, over 500 miles away in the southern part of the state, two children were critically injured while waiting for a bus when winds caused "several old, internally rotten trees to fall, knocking down power lines," the sheriff's office there said.
Photos shared in Twin Falls showed trees fallen over atop a fence and emergency crews including a helicopter responding to the scene. Deputies also responded to 22 weather-related traffic incidents and hazards including downed power lines and trees.
Winds could cause widespread power outages, heighten fire weather
Forecasters said winds are expected to knock down trees and power lines as they spread eastward over the next couple days. Travel conditions will be hazardous, particularly for large vehicles like trucks, the weather service said.
The weather service in Norman, Oklahoma, said the morning of Dec. 18 that wind speeds up to 50 mph were already clocked in northern Oklahoma. A wind advisory will be in place from 9 a.m. to evening local time.
Red flag warnings were in place in parts of Colorado and Missouri and much of Kansas. In Boulder, Colorado, the weather service urged residents to avoid burning as winds with gusts up to 65 mph would make conditions favorable for "rapid fire spread."
As far east as the Massachusetts Cape, the wind gusts are expected to reach 65 mph by the end of the week, the weather service in Boston said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Dangerous winds spread across US; 1 dead in Idaho
