BBC forecaster Susan Powell looks in detail at the storm path
By Nadine Yousif
BBC News, Toronto
More than one million people are without power in several states as a powerful Arctic winter storm sweeps through the US and Canada.
The storm has brought damaging winds and freezing temperatures that can quickly lead to frostbite.
Much of Canada and the US are under winter weather alerts that stretch from coast-to-coast and as far south as the US-Mexico border.
Major airports have cancelled thousands of flights as the storm intensifies.
As of Friday morning, more than 1,130,000 people from Texas to Maine were left in the dark, as the intense winds brought damage to power lines across the eastern US.
Power outages have also been reported in Canada, affecting 260,000 people in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
The US National Weather Service said that over 200 million people – or roughly 60% of the US population – are under some form of winter weather advisory.
Much of Canada, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, is also under extreme cold and winter storm warnings.
Several school boards in Ontario, including Toronto, have cancelled classes. The airline WestJet has also cancelled flights on Friday due to “prolonged and extreme weather events” across Canada.
This storm is set to bring the iciest Christmas in decades, say forecasters, even affecting the sunshine state of Florida.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said temperatures of -50F (-45C) and -70F were possible by the end of this week in some parts of the country.
They warned that even in major metro areas, like the city of Des Moines, Iowa, frostbite will be a major danger.
What is frostbite?
- Caused when blood flow to the extremities is reduced – a natural response to the cold
- Symptoms usually begin with the affected parts feeling cold and painful
- In extreme cases, the tissue can die and surgery – even amputation – could be necessary
- Someone with frostbite should be taken into the warm and medical advice sought
Meteorologists say the winter storm, which began on Tuesday in the Pacific Northwest, could become a “bomb cyclone” by Friday.
Bomb cyclone is a term given to an explosive storm that intensifies rapidly, with its central air pressure dropping by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.
“This is not like a snow day, when you were a kid, this is serious stuff,” President Joe Biden said in a White House briefing on Thursday.
Image source, Getty Images
The Arctic air mass is projected to bring strong wind gusts and temperature of 15F (-9.4C) to El Paso, Texas, where newly arrived undocumented migrants are sleeping rough on city streets.
The storm has already wreaked havoc from Colorado to Wyoming, and north in Minnesota.
In just 12 hours, Wyoming Highway Patrol received 787 calls for help and recorded 104 crashes.
In South Dakota, Rosebud Sioux Tribe emergency manager Robert Oliver said workers were trying to clear roads which had about 10 feet (3m) of snow in some sections.
Mr Oliver said authorities did not have enough equipment, and in one instance the rescue of people stranded in their homes had to be halted as the hydraulic fluid in heavy equipment froze.
In addition to the storm itself, there are fears of power failures – some providers are already urging customers to turn down their thermostats.
The governor of New York state, Kathy Hochul, declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the storm.
The threat of flooding and ice jams are “going to wreak a lot of havoc in our community”, she said. Ice jams happen when large pieces of ice block the flow of a river and can cause flooding.
Flooding has been reported in the northeast, including New York state and Rhode Island, where some roads have been closed on Friday due to storm surge and high tides.
The governors of Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia and Oklahoma have also declared states of emergency, while Wisconsin declared an “energy emergency”.
WATCH: Extreme cold and blizzard conditions are causing chaos – and could be deadly
Ohio governor, Mike DeWine, called the weather a “unique and dangerous situation”, particularly as people travel to be with loved ones over Christmas.
Florida is projected to see its coldest Christmas in 30 years.
The NWS has described it as a “once-in-a-generation” winter weather event, saying on Thursday that “life-threatening wind chills” will strike the east coast on Friday.
The NWS warned more than 100 daily cold temperature records could be tied or broken over the next few days.
- In Colorado, temperatures dipped to a record-breaking low of -9F from 42F on Thursday
- The city of Cheyenne, Wyoming, set a record for its greatest one-hour temperature drop, after going from 43F to 3F within 30 minutes. Elsewhere in the western state, temperatures have dropped as low as -35F
- Nearly a dozen record low temperatures were also set in neighbouring Montana
- In Chicago, a winter storm warning is in effect until Saturday, bringing with it several inches of snow and winds topping 50mph (80km/h)
- In Canada, much of Ontario and parts of Quebec are also bracing for a major winter storm that is expected to last through the Christmas weekend
More than 5,900 flights in the US have already been cancelled on Thursday and Friday, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware.
In Canada, WestJet alone has cancelled 266 flights on Friday.
In anticipation of travel disruptions, major airlines including United, Delta and American have offered to waive fees for travellers who wish to reschedule their flights.
Image source, Getty Images
Travellers at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport have been met with flight delays and cancellations on Thursday
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