More than 1 million customers in the U.S., as far west as Texas, were without power on Sunday (25 January), according to PowerOutage.us. Estimates suggested more than 10,000 flights would be cancelled.
Forecasters warned that the storm would sweep across the eastern two-thirds of the country from Sunday into next week, bringing dangerously cold temperatures and widespread ice accumulation that could cause “crippling to locally catastrophic impacts”, according to the National Weather Service.
Calling the storms "historic," U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana and West Virginia.
"We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, the Department of Homeland Security said.
A powerful winter storm spread a paralyzing mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain from the Ohio Valley and mid-South to New England on Sunday, compounded by bitter Arctic cold gripping much of the U.S. east of the Rockies.
Winter storm warnings covered 118 million people, and an estimated 157 million were urged to brace for temperatures ranging from sub-zero along the Canadian border to below freezing near the Gulf of Mexico.
Wind chills plunged to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the northern Plains.
Some of the heaviest snowfall, up to one foot or more since the storm developed on Friday, was recorded in parts of Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul mobilised National Guard troops in New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley to assist with emergency response efforts.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, at a news conference on Saturday, warned Americans to take precautions.
"It’s going to be very, very cold," Noem said. "So we'd encourage everybody to stock up on fuel, stock up on food, and we will get through this together."
"We have utility crews that are working to restore that as quick as possible," Noem added.
The number of outages continued to rise. Power failures spread across the South as freezing rain deposited layers of ice up to an inch thick, toppling tree limbs and transmission lines.
More than 1 million homes and businesses from Texas to the Carolinas were without electricity at the height of the storm on Sunday, with Tennessee accounting for about a third of all outages.
More than 800,000 customers remained without power late Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us.
The National Weather Service warned of an unusually expansive and long-duration winter storm that would bring widespread, heavy ice accumulation in the Southeast, where "crippling to locally catastrophic impacts" can be expected.
Weather service forecasters predicted record cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills descending further into the Great Plains region by Monday as more Arctic air rushed in behind the departing system.
The Department of Energy on Saturday issued an emergency order authorising the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to deploy backup generation resources at data centres and other major facilities to limit blackouts.
On Sunday, the DOE issued an emergency order allowing PJM Interconnection to run specified resources in the mid-Atlantic region beyond normal permitting limits.
More than 10,200 U.S. flights scheduled for Sunday were cancelled, according to flight tracking website FlightAware, with over 4,000 flights cancelled on Saturday.
Major U.S. airlines warned passengers to stay alert for abrupt changes, and more than 11,000 flights were ultimately cancelled by Sunday as heavy snow, sleet and ice hampered operations across major hubs.
Ronald Reagan National Airport in Virginia was effectively closed altogether, while airports serving New York, Philadelphia and Charlotte saw cancellations affecting at least 80% of flights.
Delta Air Lines DAL.N adjusted its schedule on Saturday, with additional cancellations in the morning for Atlanta and along the East Coast, including in Boston and New York City.
It would relocate experts from cold-weather hubs to support de-icing and baggage teams at several southern airports, the airline said.
JetBlue JBLU.O said that as of Saturday morning it had canceled about 1,000 flights through Monday.
United Airlines UAL.O said it had proactively canceled some flights in places with the worst expected weather.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has promised to avenge the killing of his father, while U.S. President Donald Trump said Tehran and Washin...
A Miami-based tycoon wanted in Albania for allegedly laundering drug money is suspected of faking the deeds to land where Donald Trump’s son-in-law ...
Turkish prosecutors have ordered the detention of 36 people, including the mayor of an Ankara district controlled by the main opposition, over alleged...
A Miami-based tycoon wanted in Albania for allegedly laundering drug money is suspected of faking the deeds to land where Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner wants to build a controversial multi-billion dollar resort, the country’s organised crime agency said in case files reviewed by Reuters.
Turkish prosecutors have ordered the detention of 36 people, including the mayor of an Ankara district controlled by the main opposition, over alleged bribery and tender-rigging.
A 26-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murdering British politician Ann Widdecombe has been released and is no longer part of the investigation, UK police have said.
Israel's decision to recognise the so-called Armenian genocide has triggered diplomatic tensions with Azerbaijan, one of its closest strategic partners.
It has been a punishing week for large parts of China, and forecasters warn the worst may not be over. After Typhoon Maysak left a trail of destruction and at least 23 people dead, Super Typhoon Bavi is now threatening the country's eastern coast.
At least 12 people have been killed in forest fires in Almeria in southern Spain, Andalucía’s emergency agency has said, as firefighters continue efforts to put out the blaze.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington has agreed to resume talks with Iran after Tehran requested further negotiations, but declared that last month's ceasefire between the two countries was "over".
The U.S. military said on Wednesday it launched fresh strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping, triggering Iranian attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain in the latest escalation to derail efforts to end the war.
Dozens of flights have been cancelled across East Asia as Super Typhoon Bavi approaches China. The typhoon, which has maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (100mph), is nearing a remote chain of Japanese islands, east of Taiwan on Friday.
A Miami-based tycoon wanted in Albania for allegedly laundering drug money is suspected of faking the deeds to land where Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner wants to build a controversial multi-billion dollar resort, the country’s organised crime agency said in case files reviewed by Reuters.
A 26-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murdering British politician Ann Widdecombe has been released and is no longer part of the investigation, UK police have said.
Russia launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Ukraine’s capital early on Saturday, injuring at least 10 people, officials said. The attack came as Kyiv faces a shortage of air defence munitions while awaiting fresh supplies to counter Russian strikes.
The remains of 10 victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide were carried to the Potočari Memorial Cemetery in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday ahead of their burial during the 31st anniversary commemoration.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 11 July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment