A powerful 'megastorm' set to slam a large swatch of the US could ultimately rank among the most impactful weather events of the year so far. Farther south and east, a powerful line of thunderstorms is expected to erupt along the storm's advancing Arctic cold front, bringing torrential rain, damaging winds and hail. AccuWeather meteorologists also warned that the storm may evolve into a rare bomb cyclone, a rapidly strengthening system capable of generating widespread, destructive winds. A bomb cyclone occurs when a storm strengthens extremely quickly as atmospheric pressure rapidly falls, allowing the system to intensify and spread powerful winds over a vast area. The massive storm will impact a broad swath of the country as it expands, with the combined threats of snow, severe weather and powerful winds affecting areas home to nearly 200 million people.

Source: Daily Mail March 14, 2026 13:01 UTC