(Washington) A powerful winter storm was expected to hit much of the United States this weekend, threatening to create chaos just as tens of millions of Americans plan to travel for the holiday season. year.
The storm was expected to begin building overnight Wednesday, strengthen through Friday and persist through the Christmas weekend, bringing with it extremely low temperatures, snowfall and strong winds to much of the north and east of the country, according to the US Weather Service (NWS).
It is “a once-in-a-generation storm,” its local agency in Buffalo, New York, warned on Twitter.
The Midwest and the Great Lakes region will be particularly affected this weekend, with blizzards.
The mercury is expected to drop very sharply in just a few hours, reaching a felt temperature of up to -55°C in the Great Plains region.
“A cold of this magnitude could cause frostbite on exposed skin within minutes, as well as hypothermia and death if exposure is prolonged,” the NWS warned.
In the city of Denver, where temperatures are expected to hit a 30-year low, authorities have transformed a huge indoor hall, the Denver Coliseum, into a refuge for those in need of shelter and warmth. .
PHOTO DAVID ZALUBOWSKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In the city of Denver, where temperatures are expected to hit a 30-year low, authorities have transformed a huge indoor hall, the Denver Coliseum, into a refuge for those in need of shelter and warmth. .
The gusts can also blow up to 80 km / h, causing possible falling trees and power cuts.
The private meteorological site AccuWeather warns of the possible formation of a “cyclonic bomb”, formed by the meeting of polar air with a mass of warmer air, causing a very rapid drop in pressure.
100 million travelers
These conditions will be “very dangerous” for travel, whether by road or air, the NWS warned.
But from Thursday, millions of Americans are expected at airports across the country, with the holiday season this year expected to be “busier” than in 2021, with a return “to pre-pandemic levels”, according to the Transportation Security Agency (TSA).
No less than 47,500 flights were scheduled in the United States for Thursday alone, according to the United States Aviation Authority (FAA).
United Airlines has “encouraged” its customers to check the status of their flight, and even change it “free of charge” if possible.
The storm will “clearly cause disruption” including delays, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a television interview.
Roads also promise to be busy, with 102 million Americans having to drive to where they will be spending the holidays, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
In total, about 112 million people must travel at least 80 km between December 23 and January 2, according to this organization, the third highest level since it began this count in 2000.
cold alerts
Cold watches and alerts have been issued in portions of at least 26 states, according to the NWS, and stretch from the border with Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas.
The snow is not the most worrying about this storm, but rather the cold and the winds. The heaviest snowfall is expected in the Great Lakes region between Wednesday evening and Friday, with just over 30 centimeters expected.
In February 2021, freezing cold hit Texas in particular, causing a spike in energy consumption followed by massive power cuts lasting several days.
The meteorological services wanted to be reassuring this time in this state, the temperatures should be lower there and for less time than during this episode.