The US will be hit by a cold spell over the Christmas period. The US Weather Service (NWS) speaks of a “historic” winter storm. “From coast to coast” there were dangers from drastic temperature drops, freezing winds and massive snowfall. In Denver, Colorado, temperatures fell by around 40 degrees within 24 hours as the Arctic cold front passed through.
More than 200 million people in 37 US states have received severe weather warnings. At least eight people have died on snowy and icy roads. In view of the freezing temperatures, the condition of the roads in many places is still very bad, writes the newspaper “USA Today”. According to the website PowerOutage, 1.2 million US homes, mostly on the east coast, were without power on Friday.
A generation storm
“I’m asking everyone not to go out on the streets tonight. Wrap up warm, stay indoors and take care of yourself this weekend,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul urged residents. The NWS in New York State warned of a “once-in-a-generation storm” with freezing wind gusts of more than 105 kilometers per hour.
In Minnesota, the NWS spoke of a “life-threatening phenomenon” that should be taken seriously. US President Joe Biden found drastic words: “It’s not just a snowy day, like from childhood. That’s serious!”
Cold records will fall
The cold front is moving east from the Midwest. US media expect a so-called “bomb cyclone”, a special and severe storm. Values of around minus 45 degrees Celsius have already been measured in the states of Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Meteorologists predict blizzards (heavy snowstorms) on the Great Lakes in the north, black ice on the east coast and bitter cold down to the border with Mexico. According to the National Weather Service, cold records might be set in some cities like Philadelphia or Sioux City.
Bitter frost also in the otherwise warm south of the USA
An extreme frost warning has been issued for the states of Louisiana, parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. In some parts of Louisiana, which typically has a more subtropical climate, temperatures as low as minus 15 degrees with strong winds are expected. In Texas one prepares for up to minus 26 degrees. And in the north of the USA, waves of up to six meters in height are predicted on each of the Great Lakes.
The states of Georgia, North Carolina and Kentucky declared states of emergency on Wednesday. “We’re expecting weather like we haven’t seen in a decade or more,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Temperatures of minus twelve degrees Celsius were predicted for the state on the South Atlantic coast of the USA.
Travel chaos for the holidays
The extreme cold snap is disrupting the Christmas travel plans of millions of Americans. Chaotic scenes are playing out at the airports. The FlightAware website reported that more than 3,000 flights were canceled on Friday alone. Above all, passengers in the north, around the great lakes, have to forego their journey.
The scoreboard at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport shows cancellations and delays
Videos show an armada of snow plows attempting to clear the tarmac at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, one of the country’s busiest airports. An hour’s flight further east, in Cleveland on the south shore of Lake Erie, almost 70 percent of all flights were canceled on Friday, according to FlightAware.
There is no progress on land either. Numerous train and bus connections are canceled and the authorities are warning once morest driving by car. The weather service warns that anyone who gets stuck on the roads because of snow and ice might be life-threatening from the icy winds.
It’s a matter of life and death for the homeless
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. The leader of a church mission in Augusta, Georgia, said: “It might not be a matter of life and death on a normal night. But it is now.”
The drop in temperature is life-threatening for the homeless
But just as quickly as the cold spook broke over the USA, it might also be over once more. In some areas in the northwest of the country, temperatures will soon soar once more when the core of the cold air has passed, forecast the meteorologists. In many places it should be 20 to 30 degrees warmer by the weekend.
rb/sti/nob/grey (AFP, AP, dpa Archyde.com)
