A severe winter storm, accompanied by freezing temperatures, continues to disrupt the Christmas weekend in the United States, where it caused the cancellation of thousands of flights and caused the death of at least 22 people. About 530,000 homes were still without power on Saturday around 10 p.m. (compared to up to 1.5 million the day before), according to the Poweroutage.us site, particularly in North Carolina and Maine, where temperatures were largely negative.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) warned that the cold posed a deadly risk and urged Americans in affected areas to stay indoors. Friday, because of the wind, the temperature felt down to -48 ° C, according to the same source.
In hard-hit northeast New York, Governor Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to Erie County and Buffalo, the state’s main city, where officials said the emergency services are almost paralyzed.
The situation is particularly impressive in Buffalo, located on the other side of the border with Canada. A couple from this lakeside town told AFP that the roads being impassable, they will not make the ten-minute journey necessary to visit their family over Christmas. “We can currently see across the street, but last night we couldn’t even see beyond our porch”, said Rebecca Bortolin, 40. Her fiancé Ali Lawson suffers from back pain but prefers to stay at home rather than take the risk of driving to the hospital.
“Boiling Water Challenge”, the trending challenge of the historic snowstorm in North America
Many travelers stranded at airports
Since Wednesday evening, a winter storm, one of the most violent in decades, has been battering the country, the accompanying polar winds causing heavy snowfall, especially in the Great Lakes region.
More than 3,300 flights were canceled on Saturday and more than 7,500 delayed. The previous day, nearly 6,000 flights had been canceled, according to tracking site Flightaware.com.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Twitter on Saturday that “The most extreme disruptions are behind us, with airlines and airports gradually resuming operations” – words that travelers stranded in airports such as Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit and New York clung to, hoping for a Christmas miracle.
Zack Cuyler, 35, is forced to spend New Year’s Eve with friends in New York, after two cancellations of his flight to Houston this week, where he was to reunite with his family. Even though he is “quite overwhelmed”he should be able to join his loved ones in the middle of the day on Sunday, Christmas Day. “What I am grateful for”he told AFP.
At least 22 dead
In total, authorities have confirmed at least 22 deaths, across eight states, due to the weather. Some of those deaths have occurred on the roads, which have become very dangerous, such as in Ohio, where four people died in storm-related crashes, Gov. Mike DeWine said.
A bit everywhere in American cities, such as Denver or Chicago, shelters have been opened to accommodate people in need to allow them to warm up and protect them from the risk of hypothermia.
Due to the very low temperatures, the pressure on the power grid was extremely high. The operator in ten states in the American Northeast, PJM, called on the population to reduce their consumption all day Saturday, in order to avoid cuts. Some cities, notably in North Carolina, had to temporarily cut power due to high electricity demand, leaving homes without heat.
In El Paso, Texas, desperate migrants from Mexico huddled for warmth in churches, schools and a civic center, teacher and volunteer Rosa Falcon told AFP. But some chose to stay outside in freezing temperatures because they feared they would come to the attention of immigration authorities, she added.
“Being outside can cause frostbite in minutes”
“The storm is expected to last all weekend, before temperatures return to seasonal norms by the middle of next week”, said the NWS. Until then, “If you must travel or be outdoors, prepare for extreme cold by wearing several layers of clothing, and covering as much skin as possible”wrote the NWS on Saturday. “In places, being outside could cause frostbite within minutes. »
Canada is also affected by the storm. Authorities have also issued severe weather warnings. Hundreds of thousands of people were without power in Ontario and Quebec, while many flights were canceled at airports in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.
VIA Rail, Canada’s rail transportation service, said all trains from Toronto to Ottawa and Montreal would be suspended on Christmas Day following a train derailment, while “extreme weather conditions” resulted in many other cancellations.
Since Friday afternoon, the storm has become a “low pressure bomb” : a powerful conflict between two air masses, one very cold from the Arctic and the other tropical from the Gulf of Mexico. Low pressure bombs can produce heavy rain or snowfall, coastal flooding, and hurricane-force winds.
From Toronto, meteorologist Kelsey McEwen reported waves of up to eight meters on Lake Erie. The US weather report reported winds of 120 km / h in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, on the lake.
