'Bomb cyclone' storm leaves more than 1,000 motorists stranded in Colorado

Stopped cars in Aurora, Colorado.
(Image credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A "bomb cyclone" storm that's bringing hurricane-force winds to Colorado has left close to 1,100 motorists stranded in the state.

A bomb cyclone storm happens when there is a rapid drop in pressure. The storm has caused blizzard conditions across Colorado, dropping more than nine inches of snow near Boulder, and it is intensifying as it moves into the Great Plains and Midwest. "This isn't your average Colorado storm," El Paso County spokesman Ryan Parsell told CNN.

Officials warned people to stay off the roads, as the ice made conditions dangerous. There was a 100-car pile-up near Wellington, and a state police officer helping a stranded motorist was killed north of Denver on Wednesday morning when he was hit by a car. In the hardest-hit areas, police officers out responding to car accidents were told to leave their vehicles and find shelter. "We are at the point where we are rescuing rescuers out there," Elbert County Manager Sam Albrecht told CNN.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.