The winter storm Elliott that hits the United States leaves a wind chill of up to 30 degrees below zero

Winter storm Elliott hits the United StatesGetty

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  Storm Elliott is estimated to be about 3,500 kilometers wide and has already left snowfalls of more than one meter in the northeastern part of the country

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  Power outages leave more than 1.4 million homes in the dark on Christmas Eve

Winter storm Elliott sweeping across the United States has intensified into a “bomb cyclone” near the Great Lakes and bringing strong winds and blizzards across the Northwest. Icy rains, heavy snowfalls and a drop in temperatures of up to 20 degrees in a few hours are causing chaos throughout the country. According to the latest official data, more than 4,600 flights have been canceled on Friday (to add to the more than 2,700 canceled on Thursday). Thousands of people have been unable to travel this Christmas due to the massive winter storm.

Storm Elliott, which is estimated to be about 3,500 kilometers wide, is leaving snowfall of more than one meter and record freezing temperatures in at least 13 states. The drop in temperatures is one of the issues that worries the authorities the most because it is occurring very quickly. Power outages stretch from Texas to Maine, although it is in the northwest of the country where power loss is suffering the most. ANDn states such as New York, Maine, New Hampshire or Connecticut, more than 860,000 people have lost access to electricity, according to the Poweroutage portal. The authorities of these states have prohibited road traffic upon learning of the “potentially devastating impact in the center and eastern areas” of the country.

The arrival of the Arctic blast leaves more than 200 million people in 48 states under “extreme weather” alerts, according to the National Weather Service. The cold snap is expected to last through the weekend. The thermal sensation in some places is being up to 30 degrees below zero. The authorities have asked that all residents remain sheltered in their homes.

In the state of Ohio, where the storm passed on Friday evening, there was a massive traffic accident due to the drop in temperatures that had frozen the rain that had fallen hours before on the roads. According to the authorities, more than a hundred vehicles have been affected in this accident on the highway.