Dashcam footage captured the moment a Wyoming State Trooper was nearly struck and killed by an out-of-control truck on a snowy highway as a dangerous cross-country winter storm is expected to bring up to two feet of snow to large stretches of the US
Video posted online by the Wyoming Highway Patrol shows a state trooper returning to his car Tuesday when a large white truck careens down Interstate-80 near Rawlins. Fortunately, the policeman manages to run out of the truck’s path before he can hit him.
“The driver of the tractor and trailer was unable to maintain control of his vehicle and ran off the highway into the median,” the Highway Patrol explained on Facebook. “Fortunately, no police or first responders lost their lives.”
The heartbreaking encounter comes as Winter Storm Olive makes its way across the country on Wednesday and Thursday.
More than 65 million people in 29 states from California to Minnesota through Maine are now under winter weather watches warning of freezing conditions, extreme cold and sleet, with the upper Midwest expected to be the worst. affected by Olive’s anger.
Heartbreaking dash cam video captured the moment a Wyoming State Trooper was nearly struck by a runaway truck as a winter storm approached.
As of Wednesday morning, more than 111,000 homes and businesses in Northern California were without power, according to poweroutage.us.
And more than 1,000 flights were already canceled into, into or out of the United States on Wednesday, as nearly 1,000 more flights were delayed, flight monitor FlightAware.com reports.
Denver Airport in Colorado had canceled a total of 189 flights, with nearly 50 others delayed amid cold weather, while the Minnesota/St. Paul International Airport canceled a whopping 43 percent of its outbound flights and 50 percent of its inbound flights.
Several interstate highways in the Southwest and Northwest were also closed in the early morning hours to prepare for the storm, and schools in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin were cancelled.
Even the Minnesota State Legislature was closed Wednesday, as South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem shuttered state executive branch offices in various parts of the state, with employees working remotely.
But the situation is expected to worsen in the coming hours as Winter Storm Olive moves across the country generating record snow totals, bringing with it dangerous snow conditions and sub-zero temperatures.
Some areas may see up to 25 inches of snow, with the heaviest amounts falling in Minnesota and Wisconsin, while wind gusts could reach 50 mph and wind chills could drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota.
The Minneapolis area is expected to be hardest hit, with more than 20 inches Wednesday and more than two feet total over the next three days, possibly the most snowfall the notoriously snowy city has seen in 30 years.
Meanwhile, more than 5 million people are under ice storm warnings in northeast Iowa, southern Wisconsin, northwestern Illinois and southern Michigan.
And another 2 million people are under blizzard warnings in Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas.
Winter Storm Olive is expected to bring snow, ice and freezing temperatures to states across the country
Some areas, particularly in the Midwest, can see snow totals of up to two feet.
The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, said the “historic” three-day storm “will bring a widespread accumulation of snow, with wind and drifting snow primarily Wednesday through Thursday.”
The worst impacts are expected to begin late Wednesday through Thursday, when heavy snow will cover cities quickly and will be accompanied by gusty winds.
Some parts could see snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour.
By Thursday, CNN Parts of Minneapolis could reportedly see 15 to 25 inches of snow, on top of the one to three inches that have already fallen there.
The largest snowstorm on record in the city was 28.4 inches from October 31 to November 3, 1991, known as the Halloween Blizzard. The second largest dumped 21.1 inches of snow from November 29 to December 1, 1985.
To make matters worse in the city, wind chill can cause temperatures to drop to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which could result in “significant wind and snow drift with blowout conditions in open areas,” resulting in a high wind and drifting snow with blowing conditions in open areas, the National Weather Service said.
Gov. Tim Walz said he has already directed the state National Guard, department of transportation and state patrol to be prepared to respond to the effects of the storm.
“We’re working to make sure we’re ready, and Minnesotans have a role to play too,” he tweeted, advising residents to “plan ahead, drive safely (and) limit travel.”
Families rushed across the Twin Cities on Tuesday to get their groceries before the extreme weather hits.
Molly Schirmer, for example, was seen stocking up on heat-and-serve dinners and Mexican Cokes at a Costco in St. Louis Park, knowing her teenage children could get stuck inside.
“Schools are already preparing to go online, so kids will probably be at home doing school online,” he told the Associated Press.
And in Mankato, Minnesota, C&S supply manager Corey Kapaun said demand for salt and sand was high, though shovels, now plows and other equipment weren’t running low yet.
He attributed it to the fact that winter is almost over.
“I think people are either ready or they are not,” he said. “Usually it’s the first snowfall of the year that gets a lot of attention.”
The Minneapolis area is expected to be hardest hit by the winter storm. Snow began to fall around St. Paul’s Cathedral on Tuesday.
Ayden Ereth is shown clearing snow from her vehicle in Bismarck, North Dakota on Tuesday.
That same storm system is also expected to bring icy conditions for 1,300 miles from Omaha, Nebraska to New Hampshire on Wednesday.
Milwaukee, Detroit, and Ann Arbor are likely to experience icing as damaging winds and rain batter parts of Oklahoma, western Arkansas, all of Missouri, and western Illinois.
In South Dakota, the city of Sioux Falls is also bracing for up to 16 inches of snow, on top of the four inches the state has already seen.
And in North Dakota, temperatures could drop as low as 20 degrees below zero on Thursday and as low as 25 degrees below zero in Grand Forks.
Meanwhile, Cheyenne. Wyoming is expected to see snowfall of up to a foot and strong winds that could make temperatures feel as cold as 35 below zero.
Eastern Wyoming College has already announced the closure of its main campus and the Wyoming Food Bank, which serves all 23 counties, planned to close that day.
Drivers have been urged to stay off the roads as Winter Storm Olive rolls through Minneapolis, Minnesota on Wednesday.
Interstate highways throughout the Midwest have already been closed in preparation for the devastating storm.
The Los Angeles National Weather Service warned residents to prepare for the storm
In Northern California, strong winds from the storm have knocked out power to more than 111,000 homes and businesses.
The area is now bracing for several feet of snow in the mountains, with several more inches expected at lower elevations.
“Nearly the entire population of CA will be able to see snow from some vantage points later this week if they look in the right direction,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote on Twitter.
At the same time, the National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned: ‘Now is the time to prepare for a COLD AND DANGEROUS winter storm that is expected for much of the week.
“Gusty and potentially damaging winds are also expected.”