Washington, D.C., US – Some 200mn people in the United States were preparing for a massive winter storm that is expected to affect two-thirds of the country beginning on Friday.
Snow fell over parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas on Friday. The storm is set to move to the northeast this weekend, dumping about a foot (30cm) of snow from Washington through New York and Boston, the National Weather Service predicted.
Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain, as well as Arctic temperatures, are forecast to sweep across the country from the Rocky Mountains to the mid-Atlantic states to New England.
Forecasters warned the damage from the storm could rival that of a hurricane, especially in areas hit by ice.
At least 14 states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, while major airlines urged passengers to watch for sudden flight changes and cancellations.
Forecasters also warned of ‘catastrophic’ ice accumulations along the southern edge of the storm, covering the lower Mississippi Valley, Tennessee Valley and the southeast of the country.
In the southern states of Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi, ice up to an inch (2.5cm) thick was expected to coat trees, power lines and roads, Jacob Asherman of the US Weather Prediction Center said.
“This is a mean storm,” Asherman said, describing it as the biggest of the season so far in terms of size and severity.
Expected disruptions
Thousands of power line workers were on standby, with the storm likely to cause power disruptions that could last days.
Five years ago, a severe cold snap hit the Texas power grid, taking out much of it and leaving millions without power for days.
On Thursday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott vowed that that would not happen again, saying the power system ‘has never been stronger’.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger told residents to prepare for days without power and potentially being trapped in their neighbourhoods.
Ice and snow tend to weigh down power lines, making them more likely to snap.
Thousands of flights delayed and cancelled, many of them in Dallas and Chicago
Nationwide, nearly 5,000 flights were delayed or cancelled on Friday, many of them in Dallas and Chicago, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. About 2,800 were called off for Saturday.
Schools were also closed on Fridays, with the expected drop in temperature increasing the risk of frostbite as children wait outside for school buses.
Preparing for the emergency
Salt trucks patrolled roads from Oklahoma to Tennessee, treating them against snowfall.
Residents cleared shelves at shops and supermarkets to secure groceries and equipment to fight the cold.
In the suburbs of Louisville, Kentucky, a store manager told the AP news agency that de-icing products and snow shovels were selling fast as the storm ‘has people on edge’.
“I’ve heard a tonne of people saying they don’t think they’re going to get in or out of their driveway if it does snow like they’re saying,” Matthew Isham said.
DW
