Bomb Cyclone Takes Shape: Nation Braces for Treacherous Holiday of Blizzards, Arctic Chill and Gale-Force Winds

A once-in-a-generation weather event is taking shape across the country, one that will make for a treacherous holiday weekend.

Plummeting temperatures and shifts in barometric pressure have aligned to create an explosively powerful bomb cyclone of remarkable size. So big in fact that it will cover almost all of the lower 48 states at its height, stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.

Starting Friday, most of the country will experience temperatures well below the average for this time of year. Many areas could also experience sudden drops 20 degrees or more in just a few hours, according to the National Weather Service.

This is already playing out in the Northwest.

In Cheyenne, Wyoming, there was a 32-degree drop in just nine minutes on Wednesday. That same day, the temperature in Denver dropped 67 degrees in a 24-hour period.

In the Midwest, those dropping temperatures will soon combine with high winds and create wind chills that will likely dip as low as minus 70 degrees. 

The Midwest will also need to brace for blizzards of epic proportions. At their height, these blizzards will dump over two feet of snow throughout the Plains, Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes.

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