“Whiteout”: Police video shows how fierce the blizzard is currently raging in the US Bizarre scenes – this is how Russian propaganda wants to persuade men to join the army

Freezing winds push the snow across the highway. From the car of a police officer in the US state of Wyoming, you can barely see the hood of your own car: “Whiteout”, the snow like a white wall, the visibility is zero, every motorist’s nightmare.

As seen on the police officer’s dash cam video, drivers have been sweeping much of the northern and midwestern United States in recent days.

Extreme frost, blizzards and icy winds: the US is hit by a cold snap during the Christmas season. The U.S. Weather Service reported that more than 200 million Americans were affected by severe weather warnings on the day before Christmas. Dangers from drastic drops in temperature, icy winds and massive snowfalls loomed “from coast to coast”.

In Denver, Colorado, temperatures dropped about 40 degrees within 24 hours as the Arctic cold front passed. According to the PowerOutage.us website, 1.4 million U.S. homes, mostly on the East Coast, were without power on Friday.

Bomb cyclone warning

The weather service had previously warned of a “historic” winter storm. US media, citing weather experts, warned of the possible emergence of a special and severe storm, a so-called “bomb cyclone”. In the states of Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming, values ​​of around minus 45 degrees Celsius have already been measured. “This is not like a childhood snow day,” President Joe Biden warned.

Media reports said at least five people were killed in apparently weather-related traffic accidents in Kansas and Oklahoma on Friday. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned travelers on US television to be careful. Looking ahead to Christmas, he said: “Many drivers may not be used to driving in winter conditions. (…) Please pay close attention to what the local authorities say.” Several US states have declared a state of emergency, including New York.

Traffic chaos for Christmas

There were also chaotic scenes at the airports. The FlightAware website reported that more than 3,000 flights had been canceled by Friday morning (local time). Especially passengers in the north, around the great lakes, can make up their Christmas travel plans. A video released by the Weather Channel website shows an armada of snow plows attempting to clear the tarmac at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, one of the nation’s major airports.

It is especially difficult for those who do not have a roof over their heads. Across the country, aid workers are trying to rescue the many homeless from the cold. While on a church mission in Augusta, Georgia, they prepared for an attack, as the New York Times reported. “On a normal night, it may not be a matter of life or death,” said the mission leader. “But now.” At least five homeless people froze to death in Salt Lake City, Utah, earlier this week, according to media reports. And even in Miami, where it’s typically hot, Homeless Relief has put its Cold Emergency Plan into action.

In the state of Texas, the extreme cold brings back dark memories. Last year the electricity grid collapsed due to the cold and millions of people were without power for days. According to studies, more than 200 people have died because of this. But this time be better prepared. “The power grid is ready and reliable,” the New York Times quoted an executive as saying. More than 80,000 of Texas’ more than 12 million pantographs were without power on Friday, according to the PowerOutage.us website. More than a million people were affected nationwide.

Warmer again on the weekend

The north of the country is particularly hard hit by ice, wind and snow, especially around the Great Lakes. “Waves up to six meters high are predicted at each of the Great Lakes,” the Detroit Free Press newspaper quoted a State Meteorological and Oceanographic Administration scientist as saying. Authorities have already responded to the eastern shore of Lake Erie, near Niagara Falls. In the city of Hamburg, New York, residents near the water have reportedly been asked to evacuate their homes.

Winter services also had their hands full in the metropolis of Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan. Further east, in the state of Indiana, the governor has mobilized the National Guard to protect people from the expected snowstorms.

But just as quickly as the cold specter broke over the US, it could also be over. In some parts of the country’s northwest, temperatures are expected to rise again soon once the core of cold air has passed, the National Weather Service predicts. In many places it should be 20 to 30 degrees warmer by the weekend. (sda/dpa)