Rainfall, thousands of canceled flights and temperatures of 40 degrees below zero. They warn of a “bomb cyclone”.
A powerful winter storm already affects a large part of USA and creates chaos just as tens of millions of Americans travel for the holidays.
The storm, which is forecast to last throughout the weekend, has already produced the cancellation of more than 2,000 thousand flights and left hundreds of motorists stranded on the routes of the center and east of the country, where they have already registered extreme temperatures of 40 degrees below zero.
The snowfall and hurricane winds augur the presence of a “cyclone bomb“, a large meteorological phenomenon that forms when the pressure drops and a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass.
According to experts, the scenario will worsen in the next few hours: Winds of more than 105 kilometers per hour are expected, abundant snow and a thermal sensation of 40 degrees below zero.
In this context, at least five states in the eastern United States have already implemented Emergency plans and others are likely to follow. These are Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia, and North Carolina.
The powerful storm is expected to “produce widespread and potentially crippling disruptive impacts throughout the central and eastern United States,” according to the National Weather Service
“This isn’t like a snowy day when you were a kid. this is something seriouswarned the president Joe Good.
“Cyclonic Bomb”
The Midwest and the Great Lakes region will be hit particularly hard this weekend, with blizzards. And in the region of the Great Plains the temperature is expected to drop very sharply in a few hours and reach as low as -55°C.
“Cold of this magnitude could cause frostbite on exposed skin in a matter of minutes, as well as hypothermia and death if exposure is prolonged,” the NWS warned.
Gusts of wind can also blow up to 80 kilometers per hour, causing possible falling trees and power outages.
The private weather site AccuWeather warns about the possible formation of a “cyclone bomb”due to the meeting of polar air with a warmer air mass, generating a very rapid pressure drop.
These weather conditions will be “very dangerous” to travel, the NWS warned.
complicated journeys
Starting Thursday, millions of Americans are expected at airports across the country, with a holiday season forecast to be “busier” than in 2021, from return “to pre-pandemic levels”according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
United Airlines has “encouraged” its customers to check the status of their flights, and even to change them “free of charge.”
The routes also promise to be busy, since some 102 million people will have to drive to where they will spend the holidays, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
In total, some 112 million people will have to travel at least 80 km between December 23 and January 2, according to this organization, the third highest figure since this began to be counted in 2000.
Cold weather watches stretching from the Canadian border to the Texas Gulf Coast have already been issued in parts of at least 26 states, according to the NWS.
CB/DS