1 year ago
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CNN —
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are waking up successful the acheronian to unlit trees connected Christmas Eve, aft destructive winds and dense snowfall from a winter storm tore down powerfulness lines and endangered drivers crossed the country, sidesplitting astatine slightest 13 radical successful its path.
As bone-chilling temperatures proceed to grip the US this vacation weekend, the unrelenting tempest is pummeling the Midwest and parts of the East with dense snow, blizzard conditions and adjacent flooding on the Northeast coast. No letup is successful show until the extremity of Christmas Day.
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At slightest 13 radical person died since Wednesday crossed 4 states, a effect of however unsafe and life-threatening conditions person been this week implicit a ample swath of the country.
Three radical person died successful weather-related car crashes successful Kansas, the Kansas Highway Patrol told CNN connected Friday.
In Kansas City, Missouri, 1 idiosyncratic died aft their conveyance slid disconnected an icy roadworthy and into a frozen creek, archetypal responders successful Kansas City Police Department said.
Four radical died successful car crashes successful Ohio, wherever others besides were injured, Gov. Mike DeWine said.
The Tennessee Department of Health connected Friday confirmed one, storm-related fatality.
Wisconsin State Patrol connected Thursday reported 1 fatal clang owed to wintertime weather.
Kentucky reported 3 deaths caused by the storm: Two successful car crashes and different was a idiosyncratic who was unhoused successful Louisville, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The man’s assemblage was recovered extracurricular with nary evident signs of trauma – an autopsy is required to find the origin of death, constabulary said.
For days, forecasters and officials person been sounding the alarm connected the grim conditions the tempest promised to bring, portion imploring drivers to enactment disconnected the icy, snow-covered roads and different travelers to change vacation plans for optimal safety.
“Remember your loved ones attraction much astir having you live and that adjacent Christmas than whether you tin marque this one,” Beshear told CNN Friday.
“People request to enactment disconnected the roads. … Being unneurotic is much important than ever, but staying harmless is adjacent much important than that,” Beshear added.
The ominous informing comes arsenic the tempest continues to carnivore down with blizzard conditions from the Great Lakes and interior Northeast, bringing the treble menace of dense snowfall and speedy winds.
Hundreds of drivers crossed aggregate states, including New York, South Dakota and Minnesota, were stranded this week and needed rescuing. Some states person closed large highways to deter drivers from getting down the wheel. Plus, much than 5,000 flights were canceled Friday, and much than 10,000 were delayed.
To marque matters worse, adjacent if snowfall stops oregon slows, whiteout conditions are apt due to the fact that winds are forecast to adjacent oregon surpass 60 mph, resulting successful harm and much powerfulness outages.
“If you bash suffer power, it is going to beryllium dangerously cold,” said Jackie Bray, the commissioner of New York’s Homeland Security and Emergency Services, adding radical should question warming shelters provided by immoderate counties. “Please don’t presume that you tin upwind this acold overnight without heat. You whitethorn not beryllium capable to.”
So far, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses person nary electricity, according to PowerOutage.US, which means millions of residents likely bash not person due heating oregon blistery h2o arsenic highly acold temperatures persist Saturday.
New Hampshire, New York and Virginia each person much than 50,000 outages arsenic of aboriginal Saturday, portion much than 240,000 outages are reported successful Maine, the website shows.
In pictures: Winter tempest impacts the US
Here’s what other you tin expect this Christmas Eve:
• The acold is coming for many: More than 175 cardinal radical are nether upwind chill alerts from crossed overmuch of the cardinal and eastbound US. “The life-threatening Cold Temperatures and Dangerous upwind chills volition make a perchance life-threatening hazard for travelers that go stranded,” the National Weather Service said.
• Record temps successful the South: Atlanta and Tallahassee, Florida, are forecast to person their coldest precocious somesthesia ever recorded connected December 24, according to the upwind service.
• Brutal acold elsewhere: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh volition besides spot their coldest time Christmas Eve ever connected Saturday. Washington, DC, could spot its second-coldest connected Christmas Eve, the archetypal being successful 1989. New York is acceptable to acquisition its coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. Chicago is expecting temperatures to rebound supra zero but volition inactive acquisition its coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.
• Flooding threats persist: Both coastal and inland flooding risks are successful store for the Northeast from dense rainfall falling onto a melting snowpack. Moderate to isolated large coastal flooding is imaginable owed to beardown onshore winds.
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