Many people in the US spent the Christmas weekend in double-digit minus temperatures and without electricity. The search for dead people continues.
+++ 7.50 p.m: Driving bans and warnings have been lifted in large parts of snow-covered cities and regions in the United States and rescue and search operations for snow-covered people continue. The authorities are currently reporting 47 deaths, more than half of them in the County Erie region in northwest New York state. A total of 25 deaths have been confirmed around the city of Buffalo, which is close to Lake Erie and the Canadian border. From Monday evening, meteorologists are also forecasting further snowfall for the region.
Update from Monday, December 26, 2:50 p.m.: The Christmas weekend turned out to be freezing cold in large parts of the USA and Canada. In the meantime, the winter storm “Elliot”, which brought masses of snow and temperatures in double-digit minus degrees to North America, has passed. But the authorities, especially in the northern states of the USA, expect the death toll to continue to rise. According to meteorologists, icy temperatures of around -10 degrees will initially continue along the Canadian border.
Winter storm “Elliot” rages in the USA: Several people trapped over Christmas
According to reports from the US broadcaster, it has been officially confirmed CNN meanwhile 37 dead in the entire federal territory of the USA. According to figures from the state of New York, 17 people died in the region around the city of Buffalo in western New York state on the shores of Lake Erie. That reports the New York Times. Rescue workers, who were themselves stuck in the snow storm in many places over the Christmas weekend, are still searching for people trapped in their homes or cars by the storm. In many places, households were without electricity and thousands of flights were cancelled.
+++ 12.02 p.m.: In much of the United States, Christmas is overshadowed by the effects of a violent winter storm. So far, at least 28 people in eleven states have died in connection with extreme cold, icy winds and heavy snowfall, the NBC broadcaster reported on Saturday evening (local time), citing official information
Cold wave in the USA: Arctic winter storm with minus 40 degrees continues
Update from Sunday, December 25, 08:35: The severe arctic winter storm kept the USA in suspense on Saturday with masses of snow and freezing temperatures of up to minus 40 degrees. According to the US weather service NWS, the historic cold front in the center and east of the country is expected to last over the Christmas weekend. While New York Governor Kathy Hochul sent the National Guard to Buffalo, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg gave the cautious all-clear regarding flight operations.
As the NWS announced on its website on Sunday, the snowstorms are expected to continue over the weekend, particularly in the Great Lakes region. In the state of New York, which was particularly hard hit by the freezing cold, Governor Kathy Hochul sent the National Guard to Erie County and the capital Buffalo on the border with Canada – according to the authorities, the emergency services there have practically collapsed in the face of the extreme snowstorm.
Meteorologist Kelsey McEwen from Toronto, Canada, wrote on Twitter that waves of up to eight meters high had been reported in Lake Erie, while wind gusts of up to 120 kilometers per hour swept over the city of Fairport Harbor in the state of Ohio on the lake shore, according to the NWS.
Cold wave in the USA: Thousands of flights canceled – several dead
First report from Friday, December 23, 9:15 a.m.: Washington/Frankfurt – Icy wind whips the snow across the highway. The hood of the police officer in the US state of Wyoming can hardly be seen from the police officer’s car: Whiteout, the snow like a white wall, visibility is zero, every driver’s nightmare. As seen in the Wyoming State Trooper’s dashcam video that the newspaper New York Post published on its website, motorists in large parts of the north and mid-west of the world have been affected in the past few days USA.
Extreme frost, snowstorms and freezing winds: The USA will be over the Christmas Days hit by a dramatic cold snap. More than 200 million Americans were affected by severe weather warnings on the day before Christmas (December 23), the US weather service reported. 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 media reports, at least five people died in apparently weather-related traffic accidents in Kansas and Oklahoma by Friday (December 23).
Cold wave in the USA: More than 3000 flights canceled
There were chaotic scenes at the airports. The website reported that more than 3,000 flights were canceled on Friday (December 23) alone FlightAware. Especially passengers in the north, around the great lakes, can make up their Christmas travel plans. On a video that the TV channel Weather Channel published on its website, an armada of snow plows can be seen trying to clear the tarmac at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, one of the country’s most important airports.
An hour’s flight to the east, in Cleveland, on the south shore of Lake Erie, fell loudly FlightAware on Friday (December 23) almost 70 percent of all flights. 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.
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. At a church mission in Augusta, Georgia, they prepared for an onslaught like them New York Times reported. “It might not be a matter of life and death on a normal night,” said the mission leader, “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.
weather at Christmas: Storm sweeps over Germany – warning of severe weather.
Severe weather in the USA: the power grid collapsed due to the cold
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,” she quotes New York Times a responsible person. On Friday (December 23) according to the website PowerOutage.us out of more than 12 million pantographers in Texas, more than 80,000 are without power. Nationwide, more than a million people would have sat in the dark.
The north of the country is particularly badly affected by ice, wind and snow – especially around the Great Lakes. “Waves of up to six meters in height are predicted at each of the Great Lakes,” the newspaper quoted Detroit Free Press a scientist from the State Meteorological and Oceanographic Agency. Authorities have already responded on the east shore of Lake Erie, near Niagara Falls. In the city of Hamburg, New York, residents near the water have reportedly been asked to evacuate their homes.
Cold wave in the USA: Temperatures are expected to rise again soon
In the metropolis of Chicago, on the shores of Lake Michigan, the winter services also had their hands full. 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 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. (cas/vbu/dpa)