Weather Alerts Issued in Five States, Travel Deemed 'Difficult'

High winds are making it difficult to travel by car in five Northern states as winds associated with a West Coast storm begin to move through the region.

An atmospheric river made landfall in Washington on Sunday and traveled across the Northern U.S. on Monday and Tuesday. It brought heavy rain to the Seattle region, smashing some rainfall records. Strong winds also were associated with the storm, stranding two cruise ships in Elliott Bay. The storm system is uncommon in the Pacific Northwest during the summer months, since such storms typically develop during the wet season, which occurs over the winter.

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Atmospheric rivers are a "long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The storm's impacts had moved much farther inland by Wednesday morning, and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists warned of high winds in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. A high wind warning is in place in Montana until noon local time. The warnings are in place until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. local time for the other states.

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In Montana, some gusts are expected to reach up to 60 miles per hour.

"High winds may move loose debris, damage property, and cause power bumps. Travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles," the high wind warning said in Montana. "Use caution if you must drive."

Meteorologists warned that driving would be difficult in the other states affected by the wind. All of North Dakota was under a wind advisory, as was much of South Dakota. Winds in those states could gust up to 50 miles per hour.

"It's going to be windy today and tomorrow," the NWS office in Bismarck, North Dakota, warned on X (formerly Twitter). "A Wind Advisory has been issued for all of western and central morning from the mid morning through early evening. Winds will be out of the northwest with gusts up to 55 mph today. Use extra caution!"

NWS meteorologist Zachary Hargrove told Newsweek that the strongest winds in North Dakota will be in the southwest and south-central parts of the state in the late morning and afternoon hours on Wednesday.

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As of Wednesday morning, widespread power outages had yet to affect the states.

Hargrove said windy conditions are expected on Thursday as well, although the winds won't be as strong. On Thursday, winds could gust up to 45 miles per hour.