Particle.news
Download on the App Store
13 ARTICLES
·
2d ago

Bomb Cyclone Over Great Lakes Triggers Fierce Lake-Effect Snow, Power Outages and Travel Disruptions

A reinforcing Arctic surge will extend hazardous conditions through New Year’s week.

Image
Image
Image
The scene along Lake Erie in Hamburg, New York, on Monday as a huge low pressure system and strong winds traveled the entire length of the lake in a phenomenon known as a "seich." Reported wind gusts of up to 70 mph pushed water levels as high as 8 feet in the eastern basin near Buffalo, N.Y. while lowering waters in the western basin near Toledo, Ohio as much. Photo: John Normile/Getty Images

Overview

  • The rapidly intensifying system met bomb cyclone conditions over the Great Lakes, with near‑shore gusts reaching about 70 mph and whiteout bands downwind of the lakes.
  • The National Weather Service expects an additional 1–2 feet of snow in the heaviest bands off Lakes Erie and Ontario through Wednesday, with warnings posted for Buffalo, Syracuse and Erie into Friday morning.
  • More than 300,000 customers lost electricity nationwide, with the largest outages in Michigan and thousands reported around Buffalo, according to utility maps.
  • Holiday travel was heavily disrupted as nearly 9,000 U.S. flights were delayed and over 1,500 canceled, and a pile-up involving at least 50 vehicles shut a stretch of I‑75 in Michigan.
  • Arctic air is surging into the eastern two‑thirds of the U.S., prompting Freeze Warnings as far south as the Gulf Coast and a 20–25 degree drop in daytime highs, with cold expected to persist into early January.