It will be the coldest Christmas in 40 years
From north to south, 60% of the population – about 200 million Americans – is on a weather alert for what promises to be the coldest Christmas in 40 years. The ‘Bomb Cyclone’, a rapidly intensifying explosive storm, has already dropped the mercury to 40-50 degrees below zero in the northern states. The strong winds, the heavy snowfalls and the cold are causing many inconveniences to air traffic. The winter storm has already caused more than 2,000 flights to be cancelled. Meteorologists talk about a once-in-a-generation climate event.
Coldest Christmas in New York since 1906
Atlanta, Georgia, and Tallahassee, Florida are experiencing the coldest Christmas Eve in their history. The same goes for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, while Chicago will be the coldest since 1983. Washington will be the second coldest Christmas Eve ever. In New York, on the other hand, it will be the coldest since 1906.
Over a million people without heating
In Des Moines, Iowa, it is too cold even for ice skating: the authorities have ordered the closure of the dedicated areas because “it is too dangerous to be outdoors for more than 10 or 15 minutes”. In Wyoming and Colorado – where Denver experienced the second coldest day in its history – temperatures dropped by 20-30 degrees within an hour, causing many problems on roads and electrical infrastructure. One and a half million people are already in the dark and are, above all, without heating. And the situation is destined to worsen in the next few hours.
Especially interested in the Great Lakes and Midwest
According to the US weather service NWS, the Great Lakes region, in the northeast of the country, on the border with Canada, has been particularly hard hit. In Erie County, south of the Great Lakes, in New York State, 911 services were temporarily overwhelmed. Marc Poloncarz, county manager, ha
invited on Twitter to ask for help only in the “most critical cases” and residents to stay at home despite the interruptions of
electricity and heating. Transportation to emergency shelters is currently nearly impossible, he added.
The recommendations
The NWS urged travelers to be extra careful over the Christmas weekend and warned of so-called ‘whiteout’ conditions, meaning visibility and orientation greatly reduced by snow. Traveling in these conditions is “extremely dangerous and sometimes impossible”. In addition, extremely low temperatures are detected. In the state of Montana, “early this morning we measured -40 degrees. Just a few minutes in the cold could lead to freezing,” explained the NWS.
