A potent storm system called a "bomb cyclone" will trigger powerfully windy weather for communities east of Seattle by Tuesday evening. It will create rare blizzard conditions for the Cascade passes.

Dramatic images have been circulating on social media as the storm intensifies quickly in the Pacific. Here are some of the most striking.

Though that type of weather system doesn’t often develop near Washington, the last one that impacted the Pacific Northwest was earlier this year in January. Bomb cyclones are weather systems that form when the storm’s central pressure drops more than 24 millibars in 24 hours.