A large part of the United States in the middle of a storm. The blizzard that has affected the northeastern United States for two days continued in the early hours of Sunday to bury the region under snow accompanied by gusts of wind that can reach 120 km / h. At the end of the day on Saturday, the city of Boston had received nearly 60 cm of snow, equaling the 2003 record, while the whole region is almost paralyzed, with chaos in transport, power cuts and polar temperatures.
This blizzard is a “cyclonic bomb”, a storm characterized by the explosive power of rapid drops in atmospheric pressure, confirmed the National Weather Service (NWS). The NWS recorded wind gusts of 80 to 120 km/h, and predicted polar temperatures at night as well as power cuts, usual every winter when the power of the wind or the weight of the snow tears the power lines.
More than 95,000 homes were without electricity, authorities said on Saturday evening, as snow continued to fall. Several cities in the region recorded all-time records, with more than 70 cm of snow.
Times Square Naked Cowboy Still There
Authorities once more on Saturday evening asked residents to avoid non-absolutely necessary travel until at least mid-morning Sunday, as the entire region braced for a second night of whiteouts – when snow and the white sky merge until we are unable to find our bearings.
In New York, snowplows and salt machines moved at snail’s speed to gradually clear the streets, while Central Park was under 20 cm of snow, and many railroad lines were closed. In snow-covered Times Square, the famous neon lights were no longer vague halos in the snow-filled air. But the few passers-by present fell stunned on the famous “naked cowboy”, alias Robert Burck, a street artist who plays the guitar and sings whatever the climate. As usual, he only wore his underpants, his hat and his cowboy boots, impassive despite the cold.
“It’s fantastic,” Spanish tourist Gonzalo Vazquez told AFP. “It’s as if we were skiing, but with all these lights and screens”. In Brooklyn, in the trendy district of Cobble Hill, the sidewalks were covered with at least 30 centimeters of snow and many businesses closed. “Happy Snow Day!” (“Happy snow day!”), however, launched a resident of the district, all smiles, leaving one of the small brick buildings typical of the district, with white roofs. The gigantic metro network of the megalopolis of nine million inhabitants operated more or less normally and served, as for every bad weather, as a refuge for the thousands of homeless people in this city with deep socio-economic inequalities.
“The most dangerous phase of the storm is now”
North of the city, on Long Island, the heart of the storm, 60 cm accumulated on Saturday evening, according to New York State Governor Kathy Hochul. She warned of “a very serious” and “potentially deadly” storm, but only a woman was found dead in her car, possibly freezing to death, according to Nassau County Chief Bruce Blakeman. “The most dangerous phase of the storm is now,” she said, asking residents “to continue at all costs to avoid moving while our teams clear the roads”.
In the neighboring and upscale county of Westchester, snowplows were activated at dawn to clear the roads and lanes that wind between middle-class houses enveloped in snow. The train lines serving the northern suburbs of New York were at a standstill all day Saturday. In Boston, 900 snow plows were deployed in the streets, advancing slowly. “The snow was supposed to be light, but it’s a little wet now, and therefore heavier,” commented snowplow driver Mark Burns.
More than 3,500 flights were canceled in the region on Saturday, and more than 1,200 were already canceled for Sunday. And the cold wave hits the whole coast. In usually tropical Florida, frost alerts have been issued, with the risk of knocking the famous iguanas weighing up to nine kilograms from their trees.
