Arctic air from a winter storm system swept over much of the East Coast on Friday, causing power outages and hampering holiday travel with heavy snow, blizzard conditions and dangerously low temperatures.
It’s the same system that has been blamed for three deaths and produced temperatures so low that the Montana National Weather Service office said one of the thermometers stopped working. Temperature sensors in Montana’s Elk Park hit a low of minus 50 degrees, the Office of the Weather Service said Thursday.
Southern cities, including Nashville, saw temperatures as low as minus 1 degrees early Friday, the lowest temperature the Music City has seen in nearly 27 years.
More than 181 million people, or more than half of the nation’s population, faced dangerous wind chill in the days leading up to Christmas, according to Thursday Night Weather Service data, which tracks wind chill warnings and advisories.
What defines a blizzard? Heavy snow and strong winds are expected to sweep across the country.
Dozens of states reported record-setting and significant temperature drops, with temperatures dropping as much as 50 degrees in some areas. Wind chill minimums were in the negative double digits across large swathes of the country on Friday and will continue to occur for days to come, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
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Holiday travel:More than 2,200 U.S. flights canceled amid storm
“It’s not like when you were a kid and it snowed,” President Joe Biden said Thursday after being briefed by federal officials. “This is serious business.”
A bomb cyclone formed near the Great Lakes on Friday, which is expected to worsen blizzard conditions.
The storm intensifies into a bomb cyclone
The storm also battered parts of Canada and intensified into a bomb cyclone on Friday, the National Weather Service reported. The storm’s atmospheric pressure dropped rapidly enough over the past 24 hours to classify the system, the agency said.
NWS Meteorologist John Moore said the pressure in the center of the system dropped rapidly and is expected to continue falling in the next few hours.
bomb whirlwind are intense winter storms with high winds, blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, created through a process known as bomb generation.
Meanwhile, a blizzard warning is in effect for the Great Lakes region, with snow expected to combine with strong winds to create snowy conditions.
More than 3,600 flights canceled
Following Thursday’s high numbers, As of 10:15 a.m. ET Friday, more than 3,600 U.S. flights were canceled and more than 2,400 delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
So far, about 40% of all flights departing from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport have been cancelled. Southwest Airlines flights were the most affected, with nearly 800 flights canceled for the day.
Airlines have issued waivers for some airlines in the Midwest, much of the Northeast and even parts of the South.
by numbers
Nationally, 181 million Americans were under wind chill warnings or warnings Friday.
at the same time:
- More than 11 million people under blizzard warning
- 58 million people face winter storm warnings
- More than 500,000 people are under ice storm warnings.
Bomb cyclones are powerful winter storms:Here’s a visual breakdown of how they were created.
Music City sees coldest temperature in 27 years
Temperatures at Nashville International Airport dropped to minus 1 degrees Friday morning, the first time the city has seen temperatures this low in 25 years.
At 6 a.m. local time, the wind chill was minus 19 degrees.
“This is the first time we’ve been below zero since February 5, 1996, when it dropped to minus 3 degrees. However, the all-time low for that date was -8°F (in 1989),” Nashville’s NWS tweets.
at the same time, More than 25,000 Nashville Electric Company customers were without power as of about 10:30 a.m.
“Crews are doing everything they can to restore power,” The company tweeted“They’ve been working around the clock.
Chicagoans rush to prepare for snow
Kevin Dum, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chicago, said there was no significant snow overnight in the area — perhaps as little as 1 to 3 inches.
“We haven’t had a lot of snow, but the combination of the wind and the snow is what’s really concerning,” he told USA TODAY. snow.”
The weather service also saw wind gusts approaching 50 mph, so yesterday’s light snow “was blown away really easily,” Dum said.
Multiple power outages reported in Texas
in Texas, More than 77,000 people were without power on Friday morning.
CenterPoint Energy reported the most outages in the state. As of 6:45 a.m. Central Time, more than 21,000 customers were in the dark.
The energy company said it would work to restore service as quickly as possible.
More than 20,000 Oncor customers were affected by the explosion, most of them in Dallas. Thousands of power facilities, including stations and main feeders, underwent thorough aerial and ground inspections Thursday to prepare for high demand and low temperatures, the utility wrote on its website.
“Our crews are prepared and will be working around the clock to restore lights as quickly and safely as possible – even during the holidays,” the power company wrote.
Iowa neighbors help each other
In Iowa, the National Weather Service is forecasting an intensification of stormy conditions Thursday night and Friday, with the storm’s low-pressure system “explosively deepening” Friday night.
Away from the storm’s ravages to airports, highways and city hustle and bustle, despite the cold and snow, life in the rural western Iowa town of Soldier is nearly business as usual, where neighbors often help each other through winter storms.
That means residents moving house-to-house, clearing driveways and sidewalks after the storm, organizing church meals and making sure rides are available for those who need to go to the doctor.
— Des Moines Register
How are officials responding to severe weather conditions?
Governors in at least a dozen states have announced emergency and other cold-weather measures in response to the storm and its dangerous conditions.
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Colorado: Governor of Colorado on Tuesday. Jared Polis mobilized more than 100 members of the state National Guard to help assist with “Operation Extreme Cold Weather” statewide, according to a news release.
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Connecticut: Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont activated the state’s severe cold weather protocol in response to potentially sub-zero wind chill Friday through Monday, according to a news release. Lamont also activated the state’s emergency operations center in response to heavy rain over the holiday weekend.
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Georgia: On Wednesday, the governor of Georgia. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency and warned the public to prepare for cold weather, according to a news release.
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Kentucky: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Wednesday ahead of an arctic front that is expected to bring rapid freezing and frigid temperatures across the state, according to a news release.
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Maryland: Larry Hogan announced Wednesday that the state has launched an emergency response operation to prepare for the winter storm, the Maryland government said in a news release.
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Missouri: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday signed an executive order activating the state’s emergency operations plan for extreme cold. According to a news release, the announcement will “ensure that state resources are available and National Guard members are on call for any required statewide response.”
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North Carolina: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a state of emergency on Tuesday, activating emergency operations in the state. “We know that North Carolinians will need propane and other heating fuels to keep their homes warm due to extremely cold temperatures,” Cooper said in a statement.
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New York: New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Thursday ahead of the winter storm. “Throughout the holiday weekend, heavy rain and snow, high winds, coastal and lakeshore flooding and severe freezing are possible in various regions of the state,” said a news release from Hochul’s office.
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Oklahoma state: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt declared a state of emergency in all 77 counties ahead of the storm on Wednesday, temporarily suspending shipments of materials for emergency relief and power restoration, according to a news release. And supplies the size and weight permit requirements for oversized vehicles.
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West Virginia: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of preparedness for all 55 of the state’s counties and declared Friday a holiday for public officials ahead of the storm, according to a news release.
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the state of Wisconsin: Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order declaring the state an energy emergency due to the weather. “Due to below-average temperatures, snow accumulation and blowing snow across the state, movement of liquid fuels for home heating by truck, barge, and especially rail is limited,” said a release from Evers’ office.
What is wind chill?
“Frostbite can develop on bare skin in as little as 10 to 20 minutes, and hypothermia can develop rapidly if you’re not properly clothed,” Chicago-based weather service experts warned Thursday.
Contributors: Saleen Martin, USA TODAY; Associated Press