More than four thousand canceled flights, collapsed roads and power outages in various parts of the country complicate Christmas trips. At least 17 people have lost their lives.
The historical temporal Elliot has plunged into USA to freezing weather in the middle of the Christmas season, leaves at least 17 dead, 1.7 million people without electricity and thousands of travelers stranded by canceled flights hours before Christmas.
The strong winter storm, with heavy snowfall and polar winds, made Christmas Eve bitter for thousands of people due to the cancellation of flights, the collapse of roads and power outages in various parts of the country.
In addition, Authorities confirmed at least 17 storm-related deaths in eight states. Heavy snow, hurricane-force winds and dangerously frigid temperatures kept much of the country, including the normally temperate south, frozen for a third straight day on Saturday.
At least 200 million people in the United States, 60% of the population, have been under some weather alert, according to the national weather service, the National Weather Service (NWS).
And many more have been affected in one way or another. The last part of this body, from 6:00 p.m. GMT, indicates that 3.9 million people remain on alert for a snow storm this Saturday, in the midwest, northeast, and northwest of the country.
The storm, a bomb cyclonic caused by an arctic air front, has been causing freezing temperatures from Canada to Texas since Thursday.
If the forecasts come true, several cities on the east coast and in Florida might experience the coldest Christmases since records have been kept.
Thousands of flights canceled by Storm Elliot
Elliot’s passage has left thousands of people trying to reunite with their families without Christmas Eve, since some 4,300 flights have been canceled today, according to data from the Flight Aware portal.
These are in addition to the nearly 6,000 cancellations that have already occurred since Thursday, causing chaos and despair at various airports in the United States. Courier companies such as Fedex or UPS have also announced delays in the delivery of gifts as a result of the storm.
The airports most affected by cancellations and delays are Detroit (Michigan), Atlanta (Georgia), Minneapolis (Minnesota) and Seattle (Washington state). In addition, those in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) and Buffalo (New York) are closed.
The Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted Saturday that “the most extreme disruptions are behind us as airline and airport operations gradually recover.”
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, appeared publicly on Thursday to warn Americans to take the storm “extremely seriously” and to follow the recommendations of authorities.
House members rushed to vote on fiscal year 2023 budgets on Friday, fearing they would be stuck in Washington on Christmas Eve.
At least 12 states in the country have declared a state of emergency due to the freezing cold, such as Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia or New York.
“The low temperatures today have left dangerous conditions on the roads. Stay off the roads, ”she asked for her part on social networks for the New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
