Winter storm in the north, heat in the south

While a winter storm front stretches more than 4,000 kilometers from the west to the east coast of the country in the north, a heat wave in the south is driving record temperatures, the U.S. Weather Service announced Thursday.

There is a temperature gradient of more than 50 degrees Celsius within the country, broadcaster CNN reports. Accordingly, temperatures as low as minus 22 degrees Celsius were measured in the northern states of Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota on Wednesday. In the south, on the other hand, the thermometer climbed to 30 degrees, breaking several heat records for this time of year.

Weather warnings for more than 65 million people in 29 states resulted from Wednesday’s winter storm, according to CNN. The northeast of the country was particularly affected. In Minnesota, several major roads were closed due to heavy snow storms and poor visibility. According to the website poweroutage.us, more than 700,000 homes in the states of Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin experienced power outages Thursday night. The U.S. Weather Service also warned of heavy snowfall, high winds and accumulating ice in the northern and northeastern U.S. on Thursday.

Strong gusts of wind

On the west coast, the cold front had already made itself felt in recent days with sharply falling temperatures and gale-force winds. Strong gusts of wind toppled trees and power poles in California, according to CNN. There, too, tens of thousands of people were without power in the night from Thursday to Thursday. By the end of the week, heavy snowfall is expected in the Sierra Nevada mountains and also in lower areas near the Pacific coast, the weather service warned.

Further south, temperatures of over 26 degrees would be reached on Thursday, well above normal values ​​for this time of year. According to scientists, climate change is exacerbating drought, heat and extreme weather.

(SDA)

Source: Blick