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Snow, sleet, ice: US braces for crippling winter storm; emergency declared in many states
The extreme weather could cause catastrophic damage and power outages as extreme cold weather is moving toward the eastern two-thirds of the US.
Several parts of the US are preparing for a massive winter storm as the National Weather Service has issued warning of snow and strong winds that are likely to sweep across large areas over the weekend. The extreme weather could cause catastrophic damage and power outages as bitterly cold weather is moving toward the eastern two-thirds of the US.
The massive storm system is expected to bring a crippling ice storm from Texas through parts of the South, around a foot (30 centimeters) of snow from Oklahoma through Washington, D.C.; New York and Boston, AP reported. Parts of Minnesota and North Dakota are also preparing to face bitterly cold air that could drop wind chills to mius-50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-46 Celsius).
The extreme weather is expected to impact about 140 million people.
Winter storm forecast
The storm is likely to begin on Friday from New Mexico and Texas from where it will move east into the Deep South before heading up the coast and thumping New England with snow, per the report.
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Freezing temperatures are expected all the way to Florida and lows in the North and Midwest will get about as cold as possible, even down to minus 25 or 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 32 to minus 34 degrees Celsius), according to weather forecasts.
Emergency declared
Georgia Gov Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency as he acknowledging Thursday morning some forecasts have disastrous levels of wintery weather in Atlanta.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger also asked the residents to prepare for days without power or the ability to get out of their neighborhoods. “If someone needs to call police, having a health emergency needs to call first responders, please do so and ensure the safety of your friends, neighbors and family. And, stay warm," Spanberger said.
The city of Carmel, Indiana, canceled its Winter Games out of fear residents could get frostbite and hypothermia competing in ice trike relay and “human curling” in which people slide down a skating rink on inner tubes.
Air, rail traffic to be impacted
The sweeping winter storm will threaten major disruption for airlines, railroads and power providers as massive snow, ice and freezing temperatures are expected to sweep across more than two dozen states in the US.
Berkshire Hathaway -owned BNSF Railway warned that the winter storm will disrupt operations across major corridors, as heavy snow, winds and extreme cold threaten train movement, Reuters reported.
BNSF said the storm will disrupt a broad swath of the central United States as it moves from west to east, affecting its operations in central Oklahoma, northern Arkansas, southern Missouri and western Kentucky with 8–15 inches of snow.
The railroad also said customers moving freight through storm-affected regions should expect delays and longer transit times. It said shipments may temporarily take nonstandard routings, pass through unfamiliar locations or experience atypical interchanges during the disruption caused by the extreme weather.
US airlines have also rolled out travel waivers as Winter Storm Fern in view of the winter storm that could disrupt the air travel.
