bomb cyclone

More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under a winter weather advisory or warning on Friday, the National Weather Service said. Over 5,000 flights have been canceled.

Nationwide, thousands of flights were canceled or delayed. In some places, temperatures dropped more than 30 degrees in an hour. Wind chills reached well below zero. Inches of snow fell.

Regions across the U.S. are expected to get record low temperatures, wind chills and heavy snow, which could make for dangerous conditions for travel and simply being outside.

Inclement weather sure has a knack for bad timing. On the eve of Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel periods of the year, high winds and heavy snow are buffeting places from Oregon to New England.

Hurricane-force winds, blizzard conditions, heavy snowfall and a "bomb cyclone" on the West Coast: Those are the dire predictions of weather forecasters.

The springtime storm is bringing blizzard conditions to states throughout the Plains and Midwest. Minnesota braced to face the brunt of the storm Thursday.

A "potentially historic spring blizzard" will hit this week, according to the National Weather Service office in Aberdeen, S.D.

A powerful weather system swept through the region last week, bringing blizzard conditions and leaving many communities with record-setting floods.

The winter storm has been linked to at least one death, after a Colorado patrolman was struck by a driver who lost control of his car.

The storm is bringing high winds, snow, rain and dangerous road conditions. Meteorologists and local officials are warning people across the West and Midwest to cancel travel plans.