(Washington) Millions of Americans were preparing for heavy snowfall in the eastern United States on Sunday, with nearly 200,000 homes already without power as weather services warned that the brunt of that “major winter storm” is expected to occur in the evening.
Posted at 11:44 a.m.
“A major winter storm will hit the eastern United States between Sunday and Monday,” the National Weather Service (NWS) warned Sunday morning, indicating that up to 30 centimeters of snow could blanket an area from Tennessee to Georgia in the Southeast, Vermont and New York State in the Northeast.
The storm is expected to “heavily affect travel” and “the combination of snow and ice could lead to dangerous road conditions”, he warned.
Florida (southeast), more accustomed to good weather even at this time of year, was indirectly affected when several tornadoes caused by this winter storm caused property damage on Sunday, according to the Weather Channel.
PHOTO @JRMOZER5, @JRMOZER5 VIA REUTERS
Tornado is spotted in Naples, Florida
More than 200,000 homes were without power Sunday morning, according to the specialized site poweroutage, including 100,000 in Georgia.
This state, where the weather services predicted nearly 10 cm of snow, seemed to be the most affected on Sunday morning. Its governor Brian Kemp had declared a state of emergency on Friday, and snowplows were at work before noon to clear the roadways.
Virginia and North Carolina have also declared states of emergency.
The northeastern United States had already been covered in snow in early January, covered in a white coat up to 30 cm thick, and hundreds of motorists had been stranded for nearly 20 hours on a major axis connecting the capital Washington.
Sunday’s storm is expected to reach eastern Canada on Tuesday, the NWS estimates.