MLB playoffs, snowstorm hits central US, California power outages: 5 things to know Wednesday

Winter is coming: Snowstorm, bitter cold targets north-central U.S.

Forget fall. Portions of the central U.S. will feel downright winterlike over the next few days as a potent snowstorm and bitter cold takes aim on the region. The powerful system is expected to produce heavy snow, as much as 12-18 inches, from the north-central Rockies into the northern Plains from Wednesday through Friday. Winter storm warnings and watches are already widespread across the region, all the way from Idaho to Minnesota. Temperatures will also plunge by as much as 60 degrees in the span of 12 to 24 hours as the cold air swiftly replaces preceding mild conditions, AccuWeather said.  For example, Denver could drop from 80 degrees Tuesday into the upper 20s by Wednesday night.  

It’s all about surviving Game 5

Wednesday features two winner-take-all Game 5s in the National League Division Series. The Atlanta Braves host the St. Louis Cardinals (5:02 p.m. ET, TBS), who pushed the series to Game 5 with a walk-off win in Game 4. The wild-card Nationals pushed their series against the favored Dodgers back to Los Angeles for Game 5 (8:37 p.m. ET, TBS), thanks to the heroics of two cornerstone veteran players, Max Scherzer and Ryan Zimmerman. Are the 106-win Dodgers bound for postseason disappointment? We’ll find out after Wednesday night. 

Wildfire fear set to cause power outages for more than 800,000 customers in California

More than 800,000 subscribers in California will be left in the dark for days as the state’s leading utility shuts off power to parts of 34 counties to reduce the risk of wildfires in dry and windy conditions. Pacific Gas and Electric said blackouts across parts of northern, central and coastal California would start early Wednesday morning shortly after midnight in the largest preventive outage in state history. Because every customer account could represent service to multiple residents or employees in a business, the number of people affected by the outages could be in the millions. Nearly all nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area could be subjected to the shutdowns, the only exception being the city and county of San Francisco. In addition, Southern California Edison said more than 170,000 customers could face power cuts in eight counties it serves, including more than 49,000 in Los Angeles County.

Look up! Meteor shower set to reach its fiery peak

Skywatchers get a treat Wednesday night as the second of a pair of meteor showers this week hits its peak. On Tuesday night, the Droconids lit up the sky; Wednesday night brings the peak of the Southern Taurids, according to the American Meteor Society. Viewers can expect to see up to 10 meteors each hour, AccuWeather said. But don’t let the slim numbers discourage you: the Taurids are rich in “fireballs” — meteors that appear incredibly bright as they streak through the sky, the AMS says.

NASA ‘launch drought’ set to end with ICON spacecraft

After over a month of waiting, the Space Coast is set to resume having rocket launches once again. On Wednesday, Northrop Grumman will attempt to air-launch its Pegasus XL rocket that will send NASA’s $252 million Ionospheric Connection Explorer science mission, or ICON spacecraft, to study the region of near-Earth space. Wednesday’s launch will be different than most: Instead of seeing a vertical rocket take flight from one of the launch pads at the Air Force Station or Kennedy Space Center, the Pegasus rocket will launch from the air. The Stargazer aircraft will release the rocket and the spacecraft about 100 miles off the coast of Daytona Beach where Pegasus will proceed to launch the ICON spacecraft at an altitude of 39,000 feet. That means the only place to view the launch will be on NASA TV.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NLDS Game 5, snowstorm hits central US: 5 things to know Wednesday

source: yahoo.com