CNN
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Severe winter storm hits the US on Friday with low temperatures, high winds and heavy snowfall, leaving at least nine people deadknock out power to over million customers and wrecking holiday plans from coast to coast.
The storm, which is expected to intensify throughout Friday as it passes through the Midwest and East, for gloomy road conditions with poor visibility and icy streets. coastal flooding also en issueespecially along the coastline of northeast.
All modes of travel — planes, trains and cars — were disrupted: there were hundreds of miles of the number of road closures and flight cancellations rose rapidly. In New York, due to flooding along the Long Island Railroad, they were forced to pass part of of Long Beach branch temporarily shut down.
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“Christmas is canceled,” said Mick Saunders, a resident of Buffalo, New York. who there were two hours in snow storm conditions that are expected to last until Sunday morning. “Everybody family and friends agreed that it’s safer way”.
At least 9 deaths have been reported since Wednesday.
AT north- central Kansas, three people were killed in separate car crashes on Wednesday evening; one death weather was confirmed to be related, and two of them were considered weather- related, but need more investigation, according to Kansas Highway Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Candace Breshers.
In Kansas City one man died after losing control of their Dodge Caravan on Icy roads Thursday afternoon, according to the Kansas City Police Department. “Dodge went down embankment, over retaining cement wall and landed upside down down submerged in Brush Creek,” the police said. in statement.
Three in Kentucky people died due to the storm, including two in vehicle accidents, and the other is a person with “unsecured housing” in Louisville, Gov. Andy Beshear said. male body was found outside with no obvious signs of trauma and autopsy will determine cause of death- said the police.
And in Ohio four people died like result of weather-Related auto Several people were injured, Gov. Mike Devine said.
Life-threatening cold pushed everyone way to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican border, with below zero Cold weather is reported as far south as Austin and Atlanta. Many locations in eastern US in for their coldest Christmas Eve in decades when the Arctic explosion reaches its peak.
About 1.2 million customers in USA is experiencing power shutdowns in winter weather and low temperatures, according to website PowerOutage.US. Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania have the most power outages.
In the photo: a winter storm hit the United States
Generally, more than 200 million people in The US was threatened by cold winds from the Canadian border to the Mexican border and from Washington State to Florida, with below-zero cooling expected in Southeast by Friday. Another winter weather alerts in effect for blizzard, ice, snow, and flood.
“The National Weather Service Graphic Alert depicts one of to the greatest extent of winter weather warnings and recommendations ever,” the agency said on Thursday.
In particular, parts of Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming have already saw the cold wind below minus 50 degrees fahrenheit in in past two days.
Whole state of Temperatures observed in Texas below frosts by noon Friday, according to weather observations from across the state.
New York Gov. Katie Hochul warned residents of ‘epic nationwide danger’ of winter weather.
“I called it a kitchen sink storm because it throwing all in us but the kitchen sink,” Hochul said at a press conference on Friday afternoon. “We had ice, floods, snow, freezing temperatures and everything mother nature could stumble upon us this weekend.”
For Brian Trechak, the storm was “alive up to the warnings” on his home in Hamburg, New York. buffalo airport, just to the north reported zero visibility shortly after noon on Friday.
“Whiteout, low temperatures and waves like what you see during a hurricane,” he told CNN.
He and his family decided to cancel their Christmas plans because of storm danger.
“My mother lives about 30 minutes away and also my sister and her family, in another direction,” he said. “We always get together for Christmas Eve and Christmas, but we’re all hiding down in our homes until everything stops on Monday.”
Driving bans are in place in Erie, Genesee, Niagara, and Orleans counties in Western New York because of white fog conditions.
hundreds of people were in a quandary in their cars across erie on Friday night, according to a tweet from Erie County Executive Mark Polonkartz.
Many will experience cold holiday unlike any other: Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Tallahassee, Florida are forecasting the coldest high temperatures ever recorded. on December 24, according to the National Weather Service.
Washington DC is predicted to see its second the coldest Christmas Eve, only behind 1989 New York will have its coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. In Chicago, the temperature is expected to rise above zero, but it will still be experience it is the coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.
Many of Florida will experience Peak of their cold on Christmas. It will be the coldest Christmas since 1983. for Miami, Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach.
The storm broke on Friday more heavy snowfall and blizzard, especially in Midwest.
As it moves east across the country, the storm is expected to develop into a “bomb cyclone,” a rapidly intensifying storm that drops to 24 millibars. of pressure within 24 hours. Storm pressure was predicted match what of Category 2 hurricane as it moved into the Great Lakes on Friday morning.
Governors in at least 13 states, including Georgia and North Carolina in The south took emergency action to respond to the storm. Declarations of State of emergency in several states included activation of Divisions of the National Guard.
Almost 5300 flights on Fridays have already was canceled as of 7:30 p.m. ET, after nearly 2,700 cancellations. on Thursday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
• Will remain very cold: Friday will bring record-low temperatures in large swaths of USA, including from the Lower Mississippi Valley, northeast to the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys and large areas of east from southeast, south to the central Appalachians and into the mid-Atlantic, according to the National Weather Service.
• Dangerous cold wind: The drop in temperature will be accompanied by strong winds that will cause dangerous cold snaps in almost all the central and eastern regions of the United States.
• Snow Storm Warnings: Low temperatures, heavy snowfall and strong winds are expected in the Upper Midwest. warning refers to parts of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Michigan. Buffalo, New York will plunge into a snowstorm warning Friday morning. Such warnings are in effect when snow and wind of 35 miles per hour will reduce visibility less than quarter of mile for at least three hours.
• White darkness conditions: Blizzards can exist even after the snowfall has stopped because strong winds can pick up snow already on land and cause low visibility.
separate storm system brings heavy mixed rainfall to the Pacific Northwest. on Friday.
winter storm warning is an in effect for western Washington, including Seattle, until Friday 7:00 pm PST. Additional snowfall of up up to 2 inches possible and ice accumulations can reach quarter of inch. Precipitation will begin in the form of snow and transition to sleet / freezing rain and finally to rain. More power business interruptions and travel are likely made very difficult.
Ice caused closing of runways at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where almost half of flights to and out of The airport has been cancelled, according to FlightAware. In addition, all express services for Sound Transit, regional transport network in The Seattle subway area was suspended on Friday due to icy conditions.
winter storm warning is an also in effect for Northeast Oregon, including Portland, from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM PST. Total amount of snow and wet snow of up to one inch and ice accumulations of Likely 0.2 to 0.4 inches, and wind gusts up to 55 mph. The wind chills as low as zero are possible and frostbite is possible on open skin in only 30 minutes.
One of the biggest dangers of a massive winter storm, in addition to heavy snowfall and snowstorms, is a fast drop in temperature over short period of time. air will continue to get colder, especially at night hours.
