© AFP
White image of the National Park, in Washington.
millions of americans took cover from a huge storm who hits with snow, ice and strong winds east of the country and has caused road disruptions, flight suspensions and power outages for some 130,000 homes in the early hours of Monday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said the storm combining heavy snow, freezing rain and strong winds, it impacted the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic coast before heading to New England and southern Canada.
Up to a foot of snow is expected in a swath of territory stretching from the northern Ohio Valley to the southern Great Lakes region, the NWS warned.
More than 80 million people are under climate alerts, US media reported. As of noon yesterday, some 235,000 customers had lost power in the Southeast, but by early Monday morning that number had dropped to 130,000 households, according to the PowerOutage.US website.
In areas along the Appalachian Mountains, snow might fall as much as 1 inch per hour on Monday while frigid conditions might last through Tuesday, according to the NWS.
The storm generated tornadoes in the state of Florida and flooding in parts of the coast. Icy cold and powerful gales swept across the Carolinas and Appalachians.
Transportation was severely affected. Some 3,000 flights in, to or from the United States were canceled yesterday, according to the FlightAware website, and another 4,200 were delayed.
A portion of the heavily traveled I-95 interstate highway has been closed in North Carolina. Drivers received alerts regarding dangerous road conditions.
State of emergency
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp had declared a state of emergency on Friday and snowplows had been working since before noon to clear roads. Virginia and North Carolina also declared a state of emergency.
Virginia police said on Twitter that they had to respond to nearly 1,000 incidents on Sunday. “Most cars damaged. No fatalities reported,” he said.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said on Twitter that as of noon Sunday, up to a foot of snow had fallen in some areas and “significant icing is causing problems in the central part of the state.” The governor urged to do everything possible to avoid displacement.
Also in North Carolina, the storm caused the collapse of the ceiling of a hall of a university residence, according to the local station ABC, but there were no injuries.
The NWS reported that flurries were even recorded in Pensacola, Florida, while Atlanta, Georgia, usually mild, also had a snowfall.
Some coastal flooding is expected and the NWS warned that winds on the Atlantic coast might approach hurricane force.
Snow already hit the northeastern United States earlier this month. A storm trapped hundreds of motorists for more than 24 hours on a highway connecting to Washington.
