Friday, due to the wind, the temperature felt down to -48ºC. Authorities are asking Americans to stay indoors.
UA violent 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 17 people.
About 530,000 homes were still without power on Saturday around 10 p.m. GMT (against 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 -48ºC, according to the same source.
In hard-hit New York, Governor Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to Erie County and Buffalo, the state’s main city, where authorities said emergency services are nearing paralyzed. The situation is particularly impressive in Buffalo, located on the other side of the border with Canada.
One of the strongest storms
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 day before, nearly 6,000 flights had been canceled, according to the monitoring 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 clung to by travelers stranded at airports such as Atlanta , Chicago, Denver, Detroit and New York, hoping for a Christmas miracle.
In total, authorities have confirmed at least 17 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.
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.
When will the return to normal?
“The storm is expected to last through the weekend, before temperatures return to seasonal norms by the middle of next week,” the NWS said.
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,” the NWS wrote on Saturday. “In places, being outside could cause frostbite within minutes.”
Canada 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 transport service, said all trains from Toronto to Ottawa and Montreal would be suspended on Christmas Day following a train derailment, while “extreme weather conditions” led to many other cancellations.
