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Bomb CycloneHeavy snowstorms in the USA – thousands of flight cancellations and several deaths
Shortly before Christmas, the USA is hit by a cold wave. An arctic cold front causes chaos on roads and at airports as well as power outages. There are reports of the first fatalities.
The freezing cold has the United States firmly in its grip.
That’s what it’s regarding
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A so-called “bomb cyclone” is currently raging in the USA.
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Extreme temperature drops can occur.
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More than 200 million Americans are affected by severe weather warnings on the day before Christmas.
Icy wind whips the snow across the highway. The hood of a police officer in the US state of Wyoming can hardly be seen from the car: “whiteout”, the snow like a white wall, visibility is zero, every driver’s nightmare. As can be seen in the police officer’s dashcam video, which the New York Post newspaper published on its website, motorists in large parts of the north and midwest of the United States have been in the past few days.
Extreme frost, snowstorms and freezing wind: The USA will be hit by a cold wave over the Christmas period. The US weather service reported that more than 200 million Americans were affected by severe weather warnings on the day before Christmas. Dangers from drastic temperature drops, freezing winds and massive snowfall threatened “from coast to coast”. In Denver, Colorado, temperatures fell by around 40 degrees within 24 hours as the Arctic cold front passed through.
Temperatures down to minus 45 degrees
In the run-up to the storm, the US Weather Service had warned of “record-breaking cold and life-threatening gusts of wind” that would spread from the Rocky Mountains to the eastern half of the United States. According to forecasts by website AccuWeather, the storm might quickly intensify into a so-called bomb cyclone. It is caused by “bombogenesis”, a phenomenon in which cold and warm air masses collide with falling air pressure. In this case, the temperatures might feel as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius – according to the US space agency Nasa, this almost corresponds to the temperature on Mars.
According to media reports, at least five people died in apparently weather-related traffic accidents in Kansas and Oklahoma by Friday. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned travelers on US television to be careful. Looking ahead to Christmas, he said: “Many drivers may not be used to driving in wintry conditions. (…) Please, please pay close attention to what the local authorities say.” Several US states have declared a state of emergency, including New York.
At least five homeless people froze to death
There were also chaotic scenes at the airports. The FlightAware website reported that more than 3,000 flights had been canceled by Friday morning (local time). Especially passengers in the north, around the great lakes, can make up their Christmas travel plans. A video released by the Weather Channel’s website shows an armada of snow plows attempting to clear the tarmac at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, one of the country’s main airports.
It’s particularly hard on those who don’t have a roof over their heads. Across the country, helpers are trying to save the many homeless people from the cold. In a church mission in Augusta, Georgia, they were preparing for an onslaught, as the New York Times reported. “On a normal night it might not be a matter of life and death,” said the mission leader. “But now.” According to media reports, at least five homeless people froze to death in Salt Lake City, Utah, earlier this week. And even in Miami, where it’s typically warm, the Homeless Relief has put its Cold Emergency Plan into effect.
20 degrees warmer once more at the weekend?
The winter services also had their hands full in the metropolis of Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan. Further east, in the state of Indiana, the governor has mobilized the National Guard to protect people from the expected snowstorms.
But just as quickly as the cold spook broke over the USA, it might also be over once more. In some areas of the country’s north-west, temperatures are expected to soar once more soon once the core of the cold air has passed, the National Weather Service forecast. In many places it should be 20 to 30 degrees warmer by the weekend.
(dpa/afp/fos)