US winter storm: Icy blast hits 200 million Americans - BBC

2 years ago 51
Media caption,

WATCH: Wind, snow, bitter acold harvester for historical storm

By Jude Sheerin & Max Matza

BBC News, Washington and Seattle

Some 200 cardinal Americans are feeling the icy grip of a monolithic wintertime tempest that has been linked to astatine slightest 12 deaths up of the vacation weekend.

More than 1.5 cardinal radical mislaid powerfulness and thousands of flights were cancelled connected Friday.

The immense tempest extends much than 2,000 miles (3,200km) from Texas to Quebec.

A weaponry cyclone, erstwhile atmospheric unit plummets, has brought blizzard conditions to the Great Lakes connected the US-Canada border.

In Canada, Ontario and Quebec were bearing the brunt of the Arctic blast, with powerfulness chopped to hundreds of thousands.

Much of the remainder of the country, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, was nether utmost acold and wintertime tempest warnings.

The US National Weather Service (NWS) said its Friday representation "depicts 1 of the top extents of wintertime upwind warnings and advisories ever".

Temperatures successful Elk Park, Montana, dropped to -50F (-45C), portion the municipality of Hell, Michigan, has frozen over.

It was 1F (-17C) successful the snow-covered assemblage connected Friday night. Emily, a bartender astatine Smitty's Hell Saloon, told the BBC: "It's beauteous acold here, but we're having a hellhole of a time."

In South Dakota, snowed-in Native Americans burned apparel for warmth aft moving retired of fuel, said tribal officials.

Heavy snowfall was forecast successful areas of Pennsylvania and Michigan. Buffalo, New York, was expecting astatine slightest 35in (89cm). More than 8 cardinal radical remained nether blizzard warnings, said the NWS.

Coastal flooding has been seen successful New England, New York and New Jersey.

Image source, Reuters

Image caption,

Cows locomotion successful the snowfall pursuing a blizzard successful Sturgis, South Dakota

In the Pacific Northwest, immoderate residents ice-skated connected frozen streets successful Seattle and Portland.

Even the usually milder confederate states of Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Georgia were experiencing hard-freeze warnings.

A fig of the storm-related fatalities person progressive roadworthy postulation accidents, including a 50-car pile-up successful Ohio that killed 2 motorists.

Travel problems crossed the state were being exacerbated by a shortage of snowfall plough operators, with debased wage rates being blamed.

Media caption,

Watch: Flooding pours done the streets of New York and New Jersey

More than 5,600 US flights were cancelled connected Friday, according to the tracking tract FlightAware, arsenic flyers battled to marque it location for Christmas.

By Friday nighttime 1 cardinal customers had nary energy crossed the US, according to PowerOutage.us.

Utilities passim the Tennessee Valley were implementing rolling blackouts to prevention power.

The NWS says much than 100 regular acold somesthesia records could beryllium tied oregon breached implicit the adjacent fewer days. Decades-old records person already been matched:

  • Denver, Colorado, dropped to -24F connected Thursday, its lowest constituent since the 1990s. Craig McBrierty, 34, who is primitively from Scotland, but present lives successful Denver, told the BBC it is "colder than I person ever experienced"
  • Wichita, Kansas, recorded its coldest upwind chill (-32F) since 2000
  • Nashville, Tennessee, saw its temperatures plunge to beneath zero for the archetypal clip successful 26 years
  • Casper, Wyoming, acceptable a caller grounds debased connected Tuesday of -42F

Have you been affected by the terrible upwind successful the US and Canada? Please email us: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please see a interaction fig if you are consenting to talk to a BBC journalist. You tin besides get successful interaction successful the pursuing ways:

If you are speechmaking this leafage and can't spot the signifier you volition request to sojourn the mobile mentation of the BBC website to taxable your question oregon remark oregon you tin email america astatine HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please see your name, property and determination with immoderate submission.

Read Entire Article