Strong winds impacted Twin Falls, Idaho
© Twin Falls County Sheriff's OfficeStrong winds impacted Twin Falls, Idaho on Wednesday, with wind gusts registered between 50 to 60 mph. Early Wednesday morning, high winds caused several old, internally rotten trees to fall, knocking down power lines, and critically injuring two children who were waiting for the bus.
A massive coast-to-coast storm is charging across the country, packing hurricane-force wind gusts and will impact more than 30 states by the end of the week. This comes as more people hit the roads and head to airports, with the holidays quickly approaching.

This powerful storm is approaching the Midwest after powerful wind gusts left hundreds of thousands of customers without power across the Pacific Northwest, Northern Plains and the Rockies Wednesday.

Numerous wind gusts in excess of 100 mph have been reported across the Intermountain West and Northern Plains since Wednesday, including a 144 mph gust on Mount Coffin, Wyoming.
A wind gust of 78 mph Wednesday set a new December wind record in Glasgow, Montana.

Two children were critically injured in Twin Falls, Idaho, Wednesday, after high winds toppled rotting trees onto them while they were waiting for the bus, officials said.

The sheriff's department in Kootenai County, Idaho, said a falling tree killed a man sleeping in his home in Fernan Lake Village Wednesday afternoon and warned people to stay away from large trees during high wind events.


High winds also drove the spread of several large wildfires in South Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado Wednesday.

Evacuations were issued as a wildfire grew to at least 200 acres in Pennington County, South Dakota.

Wildfires outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming and a massive blaze that reached 40,000 acres in Yuma County, Colorado, also prompted evacuations Wednesday.

More than 100,000 customers were without power across Colorado early Thursday as strong wind gusts continued to pound the state.

High Wind and Fire Weather Warnings will remain across the Intermountain West Thursday as dry air rushes in to fill the space behind the storm.

Meanwhile, high winds and heavy rain exacerbated last week's historic flooding in Washington. Powerful wind gusts compounded the existing power outages caused by the ongoing flooding across Washington early Wednesday.

A 71 mph wind gust was clocked at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound, and a 138 mph gale was recorded on Mount Hood, Oregon.

More than 61 thousand customers were still without power across Washington early Thursday.

Power outages impacted more than 350,000 customers in Washington and another 200,000 in Oregon at the height of the storm early Wednesday.