PORTLAND.-LThe storms that have turned roads into death traps of ice, caused deaths from hypothermia from Oregon to Tennessee and caused a plane to skid on the runway will cause a new wave of meteorological chaos on both coasts of the United States on Friday.
New York City, which on Tuesday recorded its first snowfall in more than two years, was in the spotlight after the National Weather Service warned that between 3 and 5 inches (3 to 12.7 centimeters) could fall. 5 inches) of snow on Friday in the state and in parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
An American Airlines plane skidded on a snowy taxiway in Rochester, New York, after flying from Philadelphia on Thursday, but no injuries were reported.
On the west coast, the governor of Oregon declared a state emergency Thursday night following requests for help from multiple counties “as we enter the sixth day of serious consequences” of weather marked by freezing rain.
Thousands of residents in parts of the Willamette Valley, also in Oregon, have been without power since Saturday due to severe damage caused by an ice storm.
“We lost power on Saturday, and yesterday we were told it could be more than two weeks before it comes back on,” said Jamie Kenworthy, a real estate agent in Jasper, Lane County.
“We have a generator that we bought last year and right now it is running a gas heater,” he explained, “We also have a natural gas stove and I have been turning on two of the burners to try to help heat the house.”
Over the past two weeks, storms have battered much of the United States with rain, snow, wind and freezing temperatures, paralyzing traffic and air travel. About 45 people have died in that time, including three who were electrocuted by a downed power line in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday.
Despite progress to restore power to tens of thousands of customers without service in Oregon, more than 107,000 remained without power as of Friday morning, according to the website poweroutage.us.
Portland Public Schools canceled classes for the fourth consecutive day due to icy roads and water damage at facilities. State offices in the city also closed on Friday.
On the East Coast, public schools in the District of Columbia will not open on Friday due to bad weather.
