A winter storm is sweeping across large parts of the US, making for a sad Christmas: At least 28 people in 11 states have so far died due to extreme cold, icy winds and heavy snowfall, the NBC broadcaster reported.
According to the New York Post, William C.* froze to death in the street on his 56th birthday. His body was found in Eerie County, face down in the snow. Authorities confirmed that this is the third death in the county during the monstrous blizzard. The frozen man’s sister posted a call for donations on Facebook to collect the funeral costs.
At least three people were killed in New York’s Erie County on Saturday, county official Marc Poloncarz confirmed on Twitter. According to the New York Times, emergency services were not in time for two of them. The reason for this was the heavy snowfall. It was said that not even snow plows had been able to clear the streets.
According to Poloncarz, emergency services in Erie County were sometimes overwhelmed. He called for calling 911 only in “the most critical, life-threatening cases” to keep the lines clear. Rescuers helped with the birth of a child by telephone on Saturday, writes the New York Times. At nightfall, people were still being rescued from their cars on Christmas Eve, it said. Some of them had been trapped there since Friday.
Storm over Canada now
The center of the storm has shifted north and is now over eastern Canada, the US weather service wrote on Twitter. The Great Lakes region of the northeastern U.S. continues to be severely affected. Heavy snowfall is also expected there on Sunday, which in combination with strong gusts of wind can locally lead to blizzard-like conditions.
The winter storm has kept the US in suspense since the day before Christmas. More than 200 million people had received severe weather warnings. Initially, the north and central west of the country were mainly affected. But there were also warnings of extreme frost in states in the south of the country. Several states, including New York, have declared a state of emergency.
In the states of Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming, values of around minus 45 degrees Celsius have already been measured. According to meteorologists, temperatures in Denver, Colorado, dropped about 40 degrees within 24 hours as the Arctic cold front passed.
More than 170,000 households were without power early Sunday morning, according to the PowerOutage website. The winter storm has kept the US in suspense since the day before Christmas. More than 200 million people had received severe weather warnings. Initially, the north and central west of the country were mainly affected. But there were also warnings of extreme frost in states in the south of the country. Several states, including New York, have declared a state of emergency.
More than 70 cm of snow
In Buffalo, also in New York state, the snow was more than 70 cm high, according to media reports. The local airport should therefore remain closed until Monday.
The Arctic cold front messed up many travelers’ Christmas plans: according to the flight data website FlightAware, nearly 6,000 flights had already been canceled on Friday and nearly 3,000 on Saturday. US media, citing weather experts, saw conditions for a so-called “bomb cyclone” fulfilled in some places : This is a weather phenomenon in which the air pressure drops extremely in a short time and increases the strength of the storm. (SDA)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
