A destructive and wide-ranging winter storm has begun to strike the northwestern United States and is gradually moving eastward, causing power outages and transportation disruptions in multiple western states.
According to U.S. meteorological authorities, this storm is part of a series of low-pressure systems that first hit Washington and Oregon on the night of the 16th, with recorded wind speeds reaching up to 114 kilometers per hour in some areas.
The low-pressure system moved east on the 17th, starting to cover most areas of the Northern Rockies, the U.S. Northwest, and the northern parts of the Central Great Plains. Blizzard warnings have been issued successively for the mountainous areas of Washington State and Montana, while North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska have also issued high wind warnings.
In Colorado and Wyoming, due to dry weather conditions, not only have high wind warnings been issued, but fire warnings have also been raised to the highest level.
Affected by this winter storm, more than 600,000 households were without power on the 17th in states such as Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Colorado. Major roads were closed in several states, and schools suspended classes on a large scale. There have been ongoing reports of vehicles being overturned, houses being damaged, and people sustaining minor injuries.