A blinding dust storm with powerful winds of 90mph tore through half of Kansas, as trailers were knocked over in Colorado and fires spread throughout Oklahoma, just days after dozens of powerful tornadoes swept through the area, flattening buildings in nearby Kentucky.
The wild weather, amid some record-high temperature, affected 100 million people in states throughout the Midwest and Great Plains with the National Weather Service calling it a ‘historical weather day.’
‘The Central US has never seen a December storm like this,’ tweeted Bill Karins, a meteorologist for MSNBC, saying it was ‘multi-hazard, life threatening weather today.’
Winds of 70 to more than 100 miles per hour have already torn through the area, ripping off roofs, overturning 18-wheelers and leaving at least 380,000 people without power as of 8.30pm Wednesday throughout Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.
In Colorado, meanwhile, 107mph winds were powerful enough to knock down tractor trailers, with more than a dozen down in the Pikes Peak region.
The Colorado Department of Transportation tweeted that several roads were closed due to the high winds and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in Golden said a highway was closed due to downed power lines and a truck that toppled over.
Portions of Oklahoma’s panhandle were also evacuated Wednesday afternoon, with all lanes of US Highway 287 closed down due to extreme winds, as fire crews battled massive wildfires in the region.
The large fires spread heavy smoke and caused poor visibility, forcing officials to shut down US 412 and US 64 near Guymon in both directions, with officials asking residents in the area to evacuate.
The order was rescinded just a few hours later, with Comanche County Management saying the fire is under control. They still urged people to avoid the area, as five volunteer fire department crews remained on the scene.
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