An Arctic storm swept through much of the United States on Saturday, leaving nearly 2 million people without power, at least 14 dead in weather-related traffic accidents and thousands stranded due to canceled flights.
While the drop in temperatures was to be expected the coldest christmas eve everElectricity systems across the country have been strained by increasing heat demand and storm damage to transmission lines.
About 1.8 million US homes and businesses had lost power as of early Saturday, according to monitoring site Poweroutage.us.
Many energy suppliers have asked their customers to save energy by not turning on large appliances and turning off unnecessary lights.
The disruptions also disrupted the daily routines and vacation plans of millions of Americans during one of the busiest times of the year.
Nearly 2,000 flights were canceled on Saturday, with a total of 4,000 delays, according to flight tracking service FlightAware. More than 5,000 flights were canceled on Friday, according to the flight tracking service.
The American Automobile Association had estimated that 112.7 million people were planning to move 50 miles or more from their homes between Friday and Jan. 2, but stormy weather over the weekend likely meant many of them will stay home.
Fatal road accidents across the country have claimed at least 14 deaths from weather-related accidents, media reported.
Two motorists were killed and many others injured in a 50-vehicle pile-up that closed the Ohio Turnpike in both directions during a snowstorm near Toledo, forcing stranded motorists to evacuate by bus to prevent spread.
Three of the deaths occurred in Kentucky, where Gov. Andy Beshear on Saturday urged residents to “Stay home, stay safe, stay alive“.
“I know it’s very difficult because it’s Christmas Eve. But we have dozens and dozens of accidents,” he said in an online briefing. “It’s just not safe.”
Blizzard conditions continued Saturday for Buffalo, New York and the surrounding county on the edge of Lake Erie in western New York, where 6 to 8 feet of snow is forecast for Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
The city imposed a driving ban Friday that was still in effect Saturday, and the three Buffalo-area border bridges were closed to traffic from Canada due to weather conditions.
Saturday’s highs in Pittsburgh are expected to be just 7 degrees Fahrenheit (-13 degrees Celsius), below the coldest ever Christmas Eve of 13 degrees Fahrenheit, which was set in 1983, the (NWS) said.
Cities in Georgia and South Carolina — Athens and Charleston — are also forecasting the coldest daily highs on Christmas Eve, while Washington DC is forecasting the coldest December 24th since 1989.
“The cold snap will continue into Christmas,” said forecaster Ashton Robinson Cook of the NWS Weather Prediction Center.
Bad weather forced authorities across the country to open warming centers at libraries and police stations while scrambling to expand makeshift shelters for the homeless. The challenge was reinforced by the influx of thousands of immigrants crossing the southern border of the United States in recent weeks.
The National Weather Service said its map of existing or upcoming weather hazards “shows one of the greatest enhancements to winter weather monitoring and warnings ever seen.”