Nearly 80 million people living in the southeastern United States are under alert this Sunday for a severe winter storm that has already left nearly 240,000 customers without electricity and forced the cancellation of thousands of flights.
The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast heavy snowfall mainly in the states of Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia due to a cold front that will move throughout the day to the northeast and the lower part of the Great Lakes, until arrive in Canada on Tuesday.
The first effects are already being felt in Georgia and North Carolina, where more than half a thousand flights have been canceled at Charlotte International Airport, or 91% of those planned, according to the specialized website FlightAware.
In total, according to this portal, more than 2,600 flights have been canceled and hundreds more suffer delays in the country, many of which departed or arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, the busiest in the United States for passenger traffic. , and that he sees this Sunday how 27% of his operations are cancelled.
It had already been anticipated by the NWS, which had indicated that this “major” winter storm would have “significant impacts” on travel between Sunday and Monday in the eastern United States, where the heaviest snowfall is expected along the Appalachians. and frost in the Carolinas.
The storm has also affected the electricity supply in the region, according to the PowerOutage website, which reports blackouts in the US.
In Georgia, more than 93,000 customers lack electricity, a similar situation suffered by some 89,000 in South Carolina, 26,000 in North Carolina and another 33,000 in Florida.
Precisely the governors of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia had already declared a state of emergency before the arrival of the storm to facilitate the deployment of resources.
Further south, in Florida, the NWS has issued warnings this Sunday for possible tornadoes in the center, east and south of the peninsula.
The extreme south of the state, including Miami, is under a tornado warning until mid-afternoon this Sunday, while in the center of the state, local media reported that one was detected in the Orlando metropolitan area.
Because this low pressure front not only threatens with intense snowfalls and low temperatures, but also copious rains and strong winds throughout the country’s southeastern region.