Residents of Des Moines, Iowa are experiencing severe cold and snowfall due to an extratropical cyclone over the continent that caused storms, tornadoes, flooding and snow in many North American states. | ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES/AFP/METSUL METEOROLOGIA
Several areas of the United States braced for more snow and bitterly cold temperatures as millions across the East recover from a round of severe winter weather that killed at least five people.
The latest storm, which has already brought rainfall to the West, is expected to move across the country, unleashing a new wave of arctic cold for northern regions and prompting weather warnings or warnings in dozens of states from California to Maine.
“A powerful Arctic front is moving down from Canada and this will mark the arrival of the coldest temperatures so far this season across the Northern Plains, with subzero lows becoming a reality for Montana and the Dakotas and subfreezing highs remaining in southern Oklahoma on Friday.” said the National Weather Service (NWS) in a statement.
The cold comes on top of violent storms that have spawned tornadoes in the South, dangerous flooding in the East and blizzards in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere, affecting thousands of commercial flights and prompting governors to declare a state of emergency.
According to the tracking website Poweroutage.us, more than 400,000 customers were without power as of Wednesday morning, including 140,000 in New York state, compared to the nearly 900,000 customers nationwide who were without power Tuesday evening.
The NWS forecast called for “several feet of heavy snowfall and strong winds with gusts up to 60 mph in the Cascades, Northwest and parts of the Rocky Mountains, with the storm then moving east, bringing “storm conditions” to the Midwest.” .
Meanwhile, tornadoes devastated northwest Florida on Tuesday, where drone footage showed downed trees and damaged buildings with roofs torn off. At least five stormrelated deaths were reported, including an 81yearold woman in Alabama, where the trailer she lived in was struck by a tornado.
The weather severely impacted flights, with more than 659 cancellations and 1,300 delays across the United States as of Wednesday morning, tracking website FlightAware.com reported. Due to the new storms, there will be numerous flight delays and cancellations in the USA in the coming days.
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