Tens of millions of people were under winter storm advisories or warnings.
Chicago:
A “once-in-a-generation” winter storm with temperatures of -40 degrees Fahrenheit (Celsius) caused Christmas travel chaos in the United States on Thursday, with thousands of flights canceled and major highways closed.
Heavy snow and howling winds upended holiday plans in one of the wettest times of the year, as a huge cold front swept in from the Arctic and began to freeze over the middle of the country.
Millions of people were under winter storm warnings or warnings, with meteorologists saying it was so cold in places that anyone inside ran the risk of frostbite within minutes.
AccuWeather forecasters said the storm could rapidly strengthen into what is known as a “bomb cyclone”.
President Joe Biden told reporters, “It’s not like the snow days you had when you were a kid.” “This is a serious matter.”
Indiscriminate whitewashing and dangerous road conditions were already spreading, according to the American Automobile Association, even as 100 million people were expected to hit the streets.
‘no trip’
I-90, a major highway running north, was closed in South Dakota, with officials saying it would not reopen until Friday.
“Crews are using all available resources throughout the state to clean up and restore travel,” the South Dakota Department of Transportation said.
“Several highways are currently listed as ‘road impassable’… travel on the road section is physically impossible due to widespread deep snow and drifts.”
People were cool enough to post videos of them completing the “boiling water challenge.”
Nearly 100 motorists are stranded in the state near Rapid City, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office tweeted.
“No travel advisory has been given,” it added.
Flight tracking website Flightaware.com showed that more than 22,000 flights were delayed on Thursday, with 5,500 canceled directly, many in Chicago O’Hare or Denver, both international hubs.
Madison Painter told CNN that she and her fiancé decided to drive the 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) after their flight from Chicago to Atlanta was cancelled.
“I wanted to go home to my families,” she said.
Holiday travel volumes are expected to be close to pre-pandemic levels, with the busiest day on Thursday, three days before Christmas.
Mars planet
AccuWeather forecasters have said that the storm is rapidly becoming a “bomb cyclone” due to a phenomenon known as “bombogenesis”, when the barometric pressure drops and a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass. .
The National Weather Service warned of blizzards — snow showers lasting an hour or two — had already occurred or were expected from the central plains to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Forecasters in Montana said they were expecting their coldest night of Thursday’s Arctic snap, with temperatures as low as -40 Fahrenheit, and windchill taking temperatures down to a bone-crushing -60 Fahrenheit — a comparison to Mars In only slightly warmer NASA data.
Rich Maliavko, chief forecaster for the National Weather Service in Glasgow, Montana, said an encroaching high-pressure system was driving the clouds away.
“When you have clear skies the temperature is going to drop significantly,” he told AFP.
People who have lived long enough have experienced temperatures in this range before, Maliavko said, but extreme weather like this can be dangerous.
“Anyone can get into trouble when it’s so cold,” he said.
“With this type of cold wind, if you’re not wearing those warm layers … unprotected skin can get frostbite in less than five minutes.”
Conditions were cold enough for people to post videos of the “boiling water challenge,” where boiling water is thrown into the air and freezes immediately.
NWS Missoula in Montana tweeted, “We have our cloud formation @ -17° F (-27° C) at #Missoula International Airport.”
emergency situation
In Minneapolis and St. Paul, more than eight inches (20 centimeters) of snow accumulated in a 24-hour period, the NWS said in a Thursday morning update.
Forecasters in Montana said they were expecting their coldest night yet of an Arctic snap on Thursday.
Farther east in Buffalo, New York, forecasters called it a “once-in-a-generation storm,” with wind gusts in excess of 65 miles (105 kilometers) per hour, with air temperatures ranging from minus 10 to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Was low, and power outage.
New York Governor Cathy Hochul joined the governors of several other states in declaring a state of emergency, warning of a long list of potential disasters.
“Heavy rain and snow, gusty winds, coastal and lakeside flooding, flash freezing, extremely low wind chill and power outages are possible,” an announcement said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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