A winter storm sweeping across the US is causing more and more problems for the country’s infrastructure. Authorities said nearly 1.5 million homes and millions of people were without electricity, at least temporarily. Countless roads were closed on Christmas Eve due to heavy snowfall or dangerously slippery roads, and sometimes there were fatal accidents. Millions of US citizens have had to cancel or at least change their travel plans for the festival.
The US Weather Service (NWS) spoke of a “historic” event. Temperatures have now dropped to minus 48 degrees Celsius. The size of the Arctic cold front is also exceptional. It stretched from the Canadian border in the north to the Mexican border in the south.
Several US states have declared states of emergency, including New York, Oklahoma and Kentucky. According to a website specializing in the subject, the states of North Carolina, Maine and Virginia were the most affected by the power outages. Around 5,500 flights were canceled as of last night (local time) for meteorological reasons, with airports in Seattle, New York, Chicago and Detroit being particularly affected.
See more info…