Millions of Americans took shelter on Sunday, January 16, to protect themselves from a storm that is affecting the east of the country.
“A major winter storm will hit the eastern United States between Sunday and Monday”, had warned the National Weather Service (NWS), explaining that up to 30 centimeters of snow could cover an area that goes from Tennessee and Georgia, in the Southeast, to Vermont and New York State, in the northeast, accompanied by strong winds and freezing rain. The winds, in particular, could expect the force of a hurricane on the Atlantic coast, again warned the NWS.
Several states reported traffic disruptions in the evening. Thousands of flights have been canceled and part of Interstate I95 has been closed in North Carolina. Motorists have been warned of “hazardous road conditions” and the resulting heavy congestion from Arkansas (south) to Maine (northeast).
“Arctic air already in place in the central and eastern United States will combine with this dynamic system to create a thick layer of more than 30 centimeters of snow”, according to the NWS, which forecast along the Appalachian Mountain Range snowfall of 2.5 cm per hour on Monday and freezing conditions on Tuesday.
Tornadoes in Florida
Florida (Southeast), more accustomed to good weather even at this time of year, was indirectly affected when several tornadoes accompanied by snow, caused by this winter storm, caused property damage and caused coastal flooding Sunday, according to the Weather Channel. From South Carolina and North Carolina up the Appalachians, ice and gusty winds complicate the situation.
The winter weather alert affects more than 80 million people, according to US media. Some 3,000 domestic or international flights had been canceled by mid-afternoon on Sunday, according to the FlightAware website, and around 4,200 were delayed.
Power outages affected up to about 235,000 people in the Southeast, including more than 150,000 in the Carolinas, according to PowerOutage.us, but power appeared to be restored in several areas by evening. reducing the number of people without electricity to less than 145,000.
State of emergency declared in some states
In Georgia, another state among the most affected, the governor, Brian Kemp, had declared a state of emergency on Friday, and snowplows were at work before noon to clear the roads. Mild Atlanta has seen snowfall.
Virginia and North Carolina have also declared states of emergency. More than 30 cm of snow fell on the latter state, according to the weather channel. Virginia police announced on Twitter several minor traffic accidents and the stoppage of traffic on a major highway in the south of the state.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper confirmed on Twitter that up to 30cm of snow had fallen in some areas by midday and a “heavy frost was causing problems in the center of the state”, while calling on the population to stay safe and avoid travel if possible.
In this same state, students experienced a big scare with the collapse of the roof of a university residence, according to the local chain of the ABC network; an incident that caused no injuries. “It was very scary, testified Melody Ferguson, a student at Brevard College, to the chain, I’m still shaking. » The storm is expected to reach eastern Canada on Tuesday, the NWS estimates.
The northeastern United States had already found snow in early January, covered with a white coat up to 30 cm thick. Many motorists had been stranded for nearly twenty hours on a major axis connecting the capital, Washington.
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