Status: 25.12.2022 06:59 a.m
Arctic Storm Elliott continues to grip parts of the United States. At least 17 people have died so far. The National Weather Service warns of life-threatening ice storms and more snow by noon.
The city of Buffalo, located in western New York State on Lake Erie, is used to a lot of snow. But such an arctic storm has not been seen for decades, reports from there. The National Weather Service warns of life-threatening ice storms and more snow until Sunday noon.
Hundreds of people were stranded in their cars on Saturday night, and rescue workers also got stuck. The Buffalo Bills, the city’s very successful football team, had to spend the night in Chicago after their away win on Christmas Eve because their home airport is closed.
At least 17 dead
Elsewhere, the situation is less dramatic, although the cold front continues to dominate the weather in much of the country. The southern and southeastern United States, from Texas to Florida, continue to suffer from severe freezes. In the northwest, on the Pacific, there are warnings of rain and black ice.
In the middle of the country up to the northeast, icy winds can make being outdoors life-threatening. At least 17 people have died, according to US media, most of them in traffic-related car accidents.
Arctic Storm Elliot has a firm grip on large parts of the United States
Marion Schmickler, ARD New York, daily news at 8:00 p.m., December 24th, 2022
Electricity suppliers call for energy saving
As of Saturday morning, more than 1.5 million homes and businesses woke up without power in the eastern half of the United States. In the evening, the supply was largely restored. Some electricity suppliers called on their customers to save energy so as not to further burden the grid.
Air traffic is still disrupted. More than 3,000 flights were canceled on Saturday, and almost 8,000 were delayed. Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg expects the worst of the disruption to be over and operations to return to normal.
What is a “bomb cyclone”?
In the case of a “bomb cyclone” such as is currently threatening in parts of the USA, meteorologists speak of the term “bombogenesis” or rapid cyclogenesis.
In this phenomenon, arctic cold air from the north meets milder air from the south. Extreme temperature differences lead to a strong and rapid development of low pressure.
By definition, for rapid cyclogenesis, mid-latitude air pressure must fall by 24 hectopascals (hPa) every 24 hours. For comparison: During a storm, the air pressure drops by about ten hectopascals in about 24 hours.
In a “bomb cyclone”, temperatures can even drop to what feels like minus 60 degrees Celsius. According to NASA, that’s almost the temperature on Mars.
State of emergency declared in several states
A state of emergency was declared in Tennessee and many other states and the National Guard was mobilized to help stuck drivers, for example. Jim Strickland, Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, said he couldn’t remember it ever being so cold for so long: below zero degrees Fahrenheit, meaning minus 17 degrees Celsius and colder. At the moment it is minus ten there.
High temperatures expected in the coming week
Snowfall is expected to continue on the Great Lakes. Severe storms and freezing cold are expected to continue from the Midwest to the Northeast, according to the National Weather Service. On the back of the cold front, temperatures are already rising again. This time next week, on New Year’s Eve, there could even be above-average temperatures in many areas.