Historic Winter Storm Sweeping Across US Puts 200Mln Under Alerts - Weather Service

A record winter storm with perilously cold temperatures and strong winds moved across the western and central US and has about 60 percent of the population under weather alerts ahead of the Christmas weekend, the National Weather Service (NWS) said in an advisory.

"As of Thursday afternoon, over 200 million people in the US are under some form of winter weather warning or advisory. This includes nearly 177 million for wind chill warnings or advisories, 11 million for blizzard warning, 65 million for winter storm warnings, and 500 thousand for ice storm warnings," the NWS said.

The NWS said the current situation represents "one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever."

According to several media reports, the arctic blasts are sparking the formation of a "bomb cyclone" in and around the Midwest and Great Lakes.

The temperature has dropped to -30 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas of Montana, with the wind chill bringing it down to as low as -46F, according to reports from residents.

The historic winter storm will produce widespread disruptions to large portions of the US, the release said, with the powerful arctic front expected to sweep across the eastern third of the nation next.