Winter storm hits US – thousands of flights canceled – at least five dead
“It’s not like a snowy day when you were kids. That is serious”
A temperature drop of 10 degrees Celsius in the central High Plains heralded a winter storm forming across much of the United States. Meteorologists predict a lot of snow, ice, floods and storms. The United States is facing the coldest Christmas in decades, they say.
Temperature drops by 40 degrees: An arctic cold front moves across the USA at Christmas. There is a severe weather warning for 200 million Americans. President Joe Biden warns: “This is serious.” Power outages are feared again in Texas. At least five people have died so far.
Eextreme frost, snow storms and freezing wind: the USA will be hit by a dramatic cold wave over the Christmas period. The US Weather Service reported that more than 200 million Americans were affected by severe weather warnings. Sometimes it gets so cold that there is a risk of frostbite within minutes, the authorities warned.
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. According to the website PowerOutage.us, 1.4 million US homes, mostly on the east coast, were without power on Friday.
The US is facing the coldest Christmas in decades, it has been said, and even President Joe Biden warned: “This is not like a snowy day when you were children. That is serious.”
At least five people died in traffic accidents in the Midwest
The north and central west of the country are particularly affected, but also the south. An extreme frost warning has been issued for the states of Louisiana, parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. “Life-threatening” temperatures with strong winds are expected in some parts of the country.
According to media reports, at least five people died in apparently weather-related traffic accidents in Kansas and Oklahoma by Friday.
Meteorologist Ashton Robinson Cook said cold air masses are moving east from the central US. A “bomb cyclone” is expected on the Great Lakes, which occurs when the air pressure in a low-pressure area drops unusually quickly. Blizzards could result, Cook explained.
Chaos at the airports before Christmas
There were chaotic scenes at the airports. The website reported that more than 3,000 flights were canceled on Friday alone FlightAware. Especially passengers in the north, around the great lakes, can make up their Christmas travel plans. A video released by the Weather Channel on its website shows an armada of snow plows trying to clear the tarmac at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, one of the country’s main airports.
And it doesn’t go further by land either. Numerous train and bus connections were canceled and the authorities warn against driving by car. The weather service warned that those who get stuck on the roads because of snow and ice could face the icy winds as a life-threatening trap.
A truck slid into the lane boundary on Interstate 80 in Des Moines, Iowa
Source: AP/Bryon Houlgrave
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, in the US state of Georgia, they were preparing for an onslaught, as reported by the New York Times. “It might not be a matter of life and death on a normal night,” the mission leader said, “but it is 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.
Texas fears another power outage due to cold weather
In the state of Texas, the extreme cold snap brings back dark memories. Last year, the power grid collapsed due to the cold, and millions of people were without electricity for days. According to studies, more than 200 people are said to have died as a result.
But this time, be better prepared. “The power grid is ready and reliable,” the New York Times quoted a manager as saying. As of Friday, more than 80,000 of more than 12 million power consumers in Texas were without power, according to website PowerOutage.us. Nationwide, more than a million people would have sat in the dark.
The cold zone even extends to El Paso on the Mexican border, where many migrants are camping in tents in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, hoping for a lifting of entry restrictions into the United States.
But just as quickly as the cold spook broke over the USA, it could also be over again. In some areas of the country’s north-west, temperatures are expected to soar again 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.