The remnants of Typhoon Nuri are expected to morph into a "meteorological bomb" slamming into Alaska on Friday and through the weekend, forecasters with the National Weather Service in Alaska say. Because of its huge size, the storm will affect weather across the U.S.

It has the potential to be the strongest storm to hit Alaska's Bering Sea since October 1977, with towering seas and hurricane-force winds.

According to the National Weather Service, a meteorological bomb, or "bomb cyclone" is "an extratropical area of low pressure in which the central pressure drops at least 24 millibars in 24 hours."

Nuri's remnants could break the record for lowest atmospheric pressure recorded in Alaska: a 925 millibar reading in Dutch Harbor on Oct. 25, 1977. To put that in perspective, AccuWeather.com meteorologists say the lowest barometric pressure reading during Superstorm Sandy was 940 millibars.

Gerald Macke, a forecaster for the the National Weather Service in Portland, said the storm will modestly affect Oregon. It could bring stronger-than-normal winds to the Columbia River Gorge on Wednesday and cooler temperatures next week.

Forecasters say the sheers size of the storm will again create a "polar vortex" that will expand from the upper Midwest and flood much of the central part of the U.S. including the South by the middle of next week.

"In brief, when a typhoon curves away from Asia it causes the jet stream [steering winds] farther to the east across the Pacific and into North America to buckle and amplify days later," Accuweather's Brett Anderson said. "This is the case for the remnants of Super Typhoon Nuri as it has already curved away from Asia and tracking northward toward Alaska."

As a result, arctic air is expected to invade the Plains, Midwest and Northeast next week.

In the Northwest, cold air will likely flow into eastern Oregon. That will set up northwest Oregon for dry, windy and much cooler temperatures by mid-week, Macke said. High temperatures will struggle to get out of the 50s Tuesday through Friday, with overnight lows around 40 degrees.

-- Stuart Tomlinson