Parts of northern US shut down, part of wild day of weather

States in the northern plains are largely shutting down ahead of a massive winter storm that could dump up to 2 feet of snow in some areas, accompanied by strong winds and dangerously cold temperatures. The blizzard-like conditions to the north are part of a wild weather day across the U.S. Wind gusts, combined with snow and rain, forced closure of a long stretch of interstate highway in the Southwest. Meanwhile, many places in the mid-Atlantic down to Florida are expected to see record high temperatures — in some cases up to 40 degrees above normal.

美国北部平原的各州在一场大规模冬季暴风雪之前基本停摆，这场暴风雪在一些地区可能降下 2 英尺（约 61 厘米）的雪，并伴随着强风和危险的低温。 而北部地区的暴风雪只是美国各地狂野天气的一部分。 强烈的阵风加上雨雪，迫使美国西南部的一长段州际公路关闭。与此同时，从亚特兰大中部到佛罗里达的许多地方预计将出现创纪录的高温——在某些地区甚至比正常温度高 40 华氏度（约 22 摄氏度）。

tips

plain n. 平原；adj. 简朴的，单色的

blizzard n. 暴风雪

gust n. 一阵狂风，一阵