Powerhouse Storm Targets Midwest

by Jonathan Erdman, Editorial Meteorologist

Updated: October 25, 2010 6:00 am ET

High wind threat

Propelled by an energetic jet stream, a storm which slammed into the West over the weekend will plow into the nation's heartland, energizing into a full-fledged wind-machine.

Forecast area of high-wind threat Tuesday/Wednesday

Storms as intense as this one, with widespread wind, and some wet snow, have happened before in late October and early November in the Midwest.

The infamous "Edmund Fitzgerald" storm in 1975 and an even stronger version in 1998 are textbook examples. Another "Halloween" blizzard dumped record snowfall on the Twin Cities in 1991. The forecast central pressure of this upcoming storm could rival the above two storms.

Incidentally, as TWC Senior Meteorologist Stu Ostro (Find him on Facebook) covered in this blog entry, did you know the "Perfect Storm" (yes, that one) was going on at the same time as the Midwest Halloween blizzard? Come to think of it, compare the final weather map in Ostro's blog (from Nov. 2, 1991) to the rather poor rendition I provided above. Look familiar? Just sayin'!

In this case, widespread high winds should swing out of the northern High Plains (Montana, Wyoming) into the nation's breadbasket and Upper Midwest Tuesday. The strong winds will continue on Wednesday, hammering areas from the Great Lakes to the Dakotas.

Midwest high wind alerts (purple shading)
Wind gusts to 60 mph (locally higher) will be possible, which would be capable of producing tree damage and power outages.