A severe weather system gathering strength over the American heartland is expected to affect nearly 200 million people as it tracks from the Rocky Mountains toward the East Coast, threatening a rare combination of blizzards, tornadoes and wind gusts of up to 80mph. Meteorologists have classified the system as a 'triple-threat' storm, with cold Arctic air colliding with warm Gulf of Mexico currents to create simultaneously dangerous conditions across a wide geographic range.
Parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin had already received two feet of snow by Sunday afternoon, with conditions expected to worsen through Monday. Multiple vehicles were reported to have slid off interstate highways in southern Minnesota due to ice-covered roads, and authorities have urged residents to remain indoors and avoid travel as conditions deteriorate rapidly across several states.
