A violent storm caused chaos in large parts of the USA on the Christmas weekend. Extreme cold, heavy snowfall and freezing winds led to power outages in more than 1.2 million US homes, the website PowerOutage showed on Friday evening (local time). Ice and snow messed up the plans of many travelers: According to the flight data website FlightAware, more than 5,000 flights were canceled on Friday, and almost 9,000 were delayed. According to media reports, at least 13 people died in traffic accidents. Traffic came to a complete standstill on many roads.
More than 200 million people had on the day before Christmas severe weather warnings obtain. Initially, the north and central west of the country were particularly affected. But there were also warnings of extreme frost in states in the south of the country. On Saturday night, the storm should move more to the eastern part of the United States. “Dangerous cold” is expected in the eastern two-thirds of the country over the holiday weekend, the US weather service warned. Some states, including New Yorkdeclared a state of emergency.
Pile-up with more than 50 vehicles
A serious accident causes a stir. At least four people died in a pile-up involving around 50 vehicles on the Ohio Turnpike, according to soldiers who were at the scene. Many more were injured. The rescue workers are in action. The series of accidents occurred between State Route 53 and Route 4 in Erie County. The road had to be closed for several miles in both directions and traffic was diverted.
Buses took people stranded on the turnpike to safety. Because: For large parts of the region, there is a warning not to stay outside when temperatures are well below freezing. The so-called white-out conditions (combination of fog and snowfall) remain in place, it is said. Of Travel is discouraged.
Governor of New York: “I ask everyone not to go out on the streets tonight”
“I am asking everyone not to take to the streets tonight as conditions will worsen as temperatures continue to drop across the state. Wrap up warm, stay indoors and take care of yourself this weekend,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul urged residents.
US media, citing weather experts, warned of the possible development of a special and severe storm, a so-called “bomb cyclone”. Values of around minus 45 degrees Celsius have already been measured in the states of Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming. According to meteorologists, temperatures in Denver, Colorado, fell by around 40 degrees within 24 hours as the Arctic cold front passed through. “This is not like a childhood snow day,” warned President Joe Biden.
There were also chaotic scenes at the airports. Especially passengers in the north, around the great lakes, had to cancel trips. The airports in Chicago and Detroit are among the most important hubs in the country. Video released by the Weather Channel’s website showed an armada of snow plows attempting to clear the tarmac at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
FedEx: Delivery dates for gifts cannot be met
Many families may also wake up on Christmas morning to find that there are no presents. FedEx said on its website that previously promised guaranteed delivery dates may not be met due to “significant” weather disruption.
“We recognize the importance of deliveries this bank holiday weekend and are committed to delivering the service to the best of our ability, taking emergency measures where safe and possible,” the message reads.
“It’s not like a nice snowy day when you were a kid, it’s really serious”
In much of the country from the canadian Border to the south, from the Pacific Northwest to the east coast, there are still dangers from winter weather, the US weather service said on Friday morning. Meteorologists called on people not to leave their homes if possible. If you go outside, you risk frostbite within minutes. For longer stays there is even a risk of death.
President Joe Biden warned his countrymen, “This is not like a nice snowy day of childhood. This is really serious.” The biting cold hit the more than 1 million US consumers, mostly in the southern and eastern US, who suffered from power outages as of Friday morning, according to website poweroutage.us.
The storm hit the country just before one of the annual travel highlights: According to the American Automobile Association, around one hundred million people are planning to travel by car over the Christmas period. Several states, including Oklahoma, New York, Kentucky, Georgia and North Carolina, have declared states of emergency.
4000 flights canceled by Friday noon
Traffic departments in the states of North and South Dakota, Oklahoma and Iowa, among others, reported poor visibility, ice-covered roads and snowstorm conditions. According to local authorities, at least five people died in traffic accidents in Oklahoma and Kentucky.
In the state of South Dakota, authorities classified several expressways as “impassable”. Driving is “impossible due to the widespread deep snow and drifts,” said the state Department of Transportation.
According to flight-tracking website Flight Aware, more than 4,000 flights had been canceled as of Friday noon, many of them at international hubs in New York, Seattle and Chicago. As early as Thursday, around 10,000 flights within the United States were delayed and 2,600 were canceled. US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said on MSNBC that about 10 percent of commercial flights were canceled on Thursday.
Bomb cyclone created by “Bombbogenesis”
In the run-up to the storm, the US weather service had warned of “record-breaking cold and life-threatening gusts of wind” that would spread from the Rocky Mountains to the eastern half of the United States. According to forecasts by the AccuWeather website, the storm could quickly intensify into a so-called bomb cyclone. It is caused by “bombogenesis”, a phenomenon in which cold and warm air masses meet with falling air pressure. In this case, the temperatures could feel as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius – according to the US space agency Nasa This almost corresponds to the temperature on Mars.
The chief meteorologist of the weather service in Glasgow (state of Montana), Rich Maliawco, warned of the dangers of such weather extremes. If people aren’t adequately dressed in such temperatures, they “can get frostbite in less than five minutes,” Maliawco told AFP.