(New York) The Christmas Eve program was turned upside down on Saturday for millions of Americans who faced a severe winter storm accompanied by extreme temperatures, which made many roads impassable, caused the cancellation of thousands of flights and caused death of more than ten people.
About 750,000 homes were without power on Saturday afternoon, according to the Poweroutage.us site, particularly in North Carolina and Maine, where temperatures were largely below freezing.
PHOTO LOGAN CYRUS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A note says this bar in the Plaza Midwood area of Charlotte, NC is closed due to a power outage.
Since Wednesday evening, the central and eastern United States have been hit by this storm of rare intensity, whose polar winds have also caused heavy snowfall, particularly in the Great Lakes region.
The situation was particularly dire around the city of Buffalo, New York.
“The winds are so strong” that the snow forms like “sand dunes”, it’s “crazy”, described to AFP Ali Lawson, 34, who has lived in Buffalo for eight years.
“Last night, we couldn’t see beyond our porch”, and the snow plows can’t even go out to clear the roads, she said, congratulating herself that she still had electricity unlike some other residents.
The day before, a travel ban had been pronounced in this region. But hundreds of people still got stuck in their vehicles, “including people who tried to get out late last night,” Erie County official Mark Poloncarz told a news conference Saturday.
The National Guard was sent to rescue them.
“In the most affected places, there are no emergency services available, including in the city of Buffalo”, detailed Mr. Poloncarz. Two people died of medical problems because they could not be rescued, he said.
In total, authorities have confirmed at least 17 deaths, across eight states.
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.
PHOTO LOGAN CYRUS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A wrecked car in Charlotte, North Carolina
Thousands of flights canceled
Besides the roads, transportation was severely disrupted in general, even as tens of millions of Americans sought to travel to join their families for the holiday season.
More than 5,500 flights were canceled on Friday. That was 20% of air traffic that day, tweeted US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
More than 2,600 flights were again canceled on Saturday, according to the specialist site flightaware. But according to the American aviation authority (FAA) “the strongest disturbances are behind us, and the companies and airports will gradually recover”, explained Mr. Buttigieg.
Many travelers thus found themselves hoping for a Christmas miracle, in the form of a last-minute seat on a plane or train that would allow them to arrive in time for the celebrations.
Zack Cuyler, 35, was 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 if he said he was “quite overwhelmed” by these postponements, he should however manage to join his relatives in the middle of the day on Sunday, Christmas Day. “What I’m grateful for,” he told AFP.
Shelters
Almost 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 also 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.
PHOTO DAVID GRUNFELD, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The cold has caused the water in this fountain to freeze in New Orleans.
The storm is expected to last through the weekend, before temperatures return to seasonal norms by the middle of next week, the US Weather Service (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 was also affected by the storm, where all provinces had weather alerts in place.
Hundreds of thousands of people were without power in Ontario and Quebec, and airports in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal were affected by flight cancellations.