The first major event of the 2024 presidential election campaign threatened to be disrupted by a harsh winter storm that left thousands of people without power across the United States.
As frigid conditions extended throughout the region, more than a quarter of a million people in Michigan and Wisconsin were left without electricity, according to the PowerOutage.US website.
On Friday, the US airlines cancelled more than 2,000 flights as the Northeast and South prepare for the extreme weather with the Midwest facing the wrath of heavy snowfall. Nearly 7,600 flights were delayed across the US.
Authorities have issued blizzard warnings for the Great Lakes and the Midwest.
From Iowa to the Great Lakes, including Chicago, heavy snow, wind gusts as high as 50 miles per hour, and poor visibility will persist through rush hours on Friday night.
Meanwhile, National Weather Service (NWS) in Des Moines has urged drivers to avoid the roadways, days before Monday's Iowa caucuses.
The two US airports are witnessing the highest number of flight cancellations, with nearly 40 percent of departing flights at O’Hare, and more than 60 percent of departing flights at Midway are cancelled, according to FlightAware.
{{/usCountry}}The two US airports are witnessing the highest number of flight cancellations, with nearly 40 percent of departing flights at O’Hare, and more than 60 percent of departing flights at Midway are cancelled, according to FlightAware.
{{/usCountry}}In a post on X (formerly Twitter), O’Hare airport informed that more than 650 flights have been “proactively canceled” by the airlines.
US issues winter storm warnings and weather advisories
"Every state in the US has an active NWS watch, warning, or advisory," the weather service stated on Friday.
These included warnings of coastal flooding in both the east and west, blizzards predicted for Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan, avalanche warnings in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, and winter storm warnings or advisories affecting a large portion of the remaining population.
The first cold-related death of the season was recently announced in Chicago.
Several homeless people, including migrants, were placed in "warming buses" to prevent them from freezing to death on the streets.
Candidates face extra challenges in Iowa amid ‘life-threatening’ winter weather
The first primary voting for Republican presidential contenders is scheduled for Monday in Iowa, where the storm has alreadymade landfall.
With storm warnings issued, Republican presidential candidateNikki Haley, Florida GovernorRon DeSantis, and former President Donald Trump wereforced to reschedule their campaign rallies.
The voteon Monday is merely the first in a state-by-state contest determineto select the Republican Party's presidential candidate.