Photos: 'Bomb cyclone' hits thousands with flooding, power outages across US
Flooding caused by a massive late-winter storm prompted flooding evacuations in some communities, while others fought to restore power that had been out since Wednesday.
Winter Storm Upper Midwest
Tom Skaar of Cheyenne laughs while walking his dogs on House Avenue during a blizzard on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Cheyenne, Wyo. White-out conditions closed I-80, I-25, and U.S. 85, effectively closing off the state capital from Nebraska, Colorado and the rest of Wyoming. (Jacob Byk/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)
Winter Storm Upper Midwest
Gilbert Dimas, an employee with Top Flight Maintenance, loses his grip on his snow shovel during a blizzard on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Cheyenne, Wyo. White-out conditions closed I-80, I-25, and U.S. 85, effectively closing off the state capital from Nebraska, Colorado and the rest of Wyoming.(Jacob Byk/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)
Winter Weather Wyoming
Anthony Slater eats lunch at the COMEA House homeless shelter during a blizzard on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Cheyenne, Wyo. Heavy snow hit Cheyenne about mid-morning Wednesday and was spreading into Colorado and Nebraska. (Jacob Byk/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)
Winter Weather Wyoming
James Little closes his eyes against blowing snow during a blizzard on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Cheyenne, Wyo. Heavy snow hit Cheyenne about mid-morning Wednesday and was spreading into Colorado and Nebraska. (Jacob Byk/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)
Winter Storm Upper Midwest
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire student Kaylee Stuttgen of Fall Creek, WIis. steadies herself through ice and puddles as she walks along Garfield Ave. to school in Eau Claire, on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (Dan Reiland/The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram via AP)
Winter Storm Upper Midwest
A road starts to flood near Canton, S.D. and the Iowa boarder, Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (Loren Townsley/The Argus Leader via AP)
Winter Weather
Greg Giannini needed to get gas for his generator, because the lights were flickering at his home and he was afraid he was going to lose power. Even though he has four wheel drive, his car got stuck at the pumps and he was trying to dig out to get home as the blizzard swirled around him. He was stuck near North Gate Blvd. in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP)
Winter Weather
Clutching a bag of groceries a man sprints to his car as he leaves the Sprouts grocery store on North Gate Blvd. in Colorado Springs, Colo. At that time, the store was still open while a massive blizzard was moving through on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. Some of Colorado's busiest highways are closed as a raging storm brings heavy snow to a wide swath of the West and Midwest. Many schools and state offices were shut down Wednesday amid a blizzard expected to engulf parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP)
Winter Weather
White-out conditions along Happy Jack Road during a blizzard on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Cheyenne. White-out conditions closed I-80, I-25, and U.S. 85, effectively closing off the state capital from Nebraska, Colorado and the rest of Wyoming. (Jacob Byk/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)
Winter Weather Wyoming
White-out conditions are seen along Happy Jack Road during a blizzard on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Cheyenne, Wyo. White-out conditions closed I-80, I-25, and U.S. 85, effectively closing off the state capital from Nebraska, Colorado and the rest of Wyoming. (Jacob Byk/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)
APTOPIX Winter Weather Colorado
Trees snapped by high winds from a late winter storm packing hurricane-force winds and snow cover the Eugene Field house in Washington Park Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Winter Weather Colorado
Canada geese battle choppy water as a late winter storm packing hurricane-force winds and snow sweeps over the intermountain West Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Winter Weather Colorado
Traffic stops in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near Tower Road as a late winter storm packing hurricane-force winds and snow sweeps over the intermountain West Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Auora, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Winter Weather Colorado
A string of wrecked vehicles sit on an overpass over Interstate 70 as a late winter storm packing hurricane-force winds and snow sweeps over the intermountain West Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Western Winter Weather
Vehicles stack up on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near Tower Road as a late winter storm packing hurricane-force winds and snow sweeps over the intermountain West Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Winter Weather Iowa
Water rises on Avenue I at North 26th Street Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Flooding forced evacuations in northeast Nebraska and western Iowa, including a retirement home in Pierce, Neb. Residents of Avoca, Iowa, were filling sandbags to keep floodwaters from spreading, and the American Red Cross set up a shelter for anyone who was displaced. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)
Winter Weather Nebraska
Cars splash through flood water on Ames Avenue west of 66th Street Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Omaha, Neb. A vast and powerful storm is bringing blizzards, floods and a tornado to more than 25 states, stretching from the northern Rocky Mountains to Texas and beyond. Flooding forced evacuations in northeast Nebraska and western Iowa. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)
Winter Weather Nebraska
High water floods a street Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Hooper, Neb. A window-rattling late winter storm brought blizzards, floods and a tornado across more than 25 states Wednesday, stretching from the northern Rocky Mountains to Texas and beyond. (Ryan Soderlin/Omaha World-Herald via AP)
Winter Weather Nebraska
High water floods a street Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Hooper, Neb. A window-rattling late winter storm brought blizzards, floods and a tornado across more than 25 states Wednesday, stretching from the northern Rocky Mountains to Texas and beyond. (Ryan Soderlin/Omaha World-Herald via AP)
Winter Weather Colorado
Bobby Larson drops into the bowl on a snowboard in Edora Park on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Fort Collins, Colo. A winter storm hit the western U.S., with blizzard conditions expected to engulf parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota. (Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan via AP)
Winter Weather Colorado
People walk a dog in the snow on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Fort Collins, Colo. Low air pressure is how meteorologists measure the strength of a storm, and this is the strongest in Colorado since at least 1950. (Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan via AP)
Winter Weather South Dakota
Francis Rotenberger, of Rapid City, S.D., walks home through Memorial Park in the snow in downtown Rapid City Wednesday, March 13, 2019. A window-rattling storm brought blizzards, floods and a tornado across more than 25 states Wednesday, stretching from the northern Rocky Mountains to Texas and beyond. (Ryan Hermens/Rapid City Journal via AP)
Winter Weather South Dakota
Trucks are parked in the snow at the Pilot Flying J near Interstate 90 in Rapid City, S.D., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. I-90 was closed from the Wyoming border to Oacoma, S.D., earlier in the day. (Ryan Hermens/Rapid City Journal via AP)
Winter Weather South Dakota
Blowing snow reduces visibility at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, S.D., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. A window-rattling storm brought blizzards, floods and a tornado across more than 25 states Wednesday, stretching from the northern Rocky Mountains to Texas and beyond. (Ryan Hermens/Rapid City Journal via AP)
Winter Weather South Dakota
Trucks are parked in the snow at the Pilot Flying J near Interstate 90 in Rapid City, S.D., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. I-90 was closed from the Wyoming border to Oacoma, S.D., earlier in the day. (Ryan Hermens/Rapid City Journal via AP)
Winter Weather South Dakota
A pedestrian walks in the snow in downtown Rapid City, S.D., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (Ryan Hermens/Rapid City Journal via AP)
Maine Daily Life
A dog frolics in the fresh snow during the waning days of winter, Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Freeport, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
What raises a common winter storm to the level of 'bomb cyclone'? It's all about rapid, sharp changes in atmospheric pressure – and the scientists who coined the term meant to highlight their power.
An intense and ferocious winter storm — a "bomb cyclone" — is expected to bring hurricane-force wind gusts, blizzard conditions and a flood threat across a swath of the U.S. heartland Wednesday.