A long winter storm brings power outages, crowded travel and freezing temperatures on Christmas Day

CNN
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A nearly weeklong winter storm dropped temperatures to life-threatening lows across much of the U.S., brought tornadoes and flooding, and left more than a quarter million people without power on Christmas Day.

Blizzard conditions persisted over the Great Lakes, with freezing temperatures covering the eastern two-thirds of the United States, while some major cities in the Southeast, Midwest and East Coast recorded their coldest Christmas in decades.

Large areas of the central and eastern US remain under wind chill warnings and advisories, as wind chill warnings are in effect across the south.

New York City experienced freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve in several locations, including JFK and LaGuardia airports. The high in Central Park was 15 degrees, marking the second-coldest December 24 in at least 150 years. National Weather Service.

Since Wednesday, at least 22 people have died due to the dangerous weather, and some residents in the northeast are spending the holiday without adequate heating and hot water due to extremely cold temperatures.

Across the U.S., 275,856 homes and businesses were without power as of 1 a.m., most of them in Maine and New York, according to PowerOutage.us. Since the storm began, the number of outages has exceeded one million customers.

The operator of a power grid covering at least 13 states in the eastern part of the country is asking customers to conserve energy and turn down the thermostat from early Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday because capacity is falling.

The operator, PJM Interconnection, serves about 65 million people in all or part of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. , and warned that a blackout could occur if the strain is too high.

In New York, utility companies ConEdison and NaturalGrid US also urged customers to conserve energy, citing weather conditions and increased demand for power on interstate pipelines that carry natural gas into the city.

Meanwhile, power shortages in Texas forced the U.S. Department of Energy to declare a state of emergency on Friday, allowing the state’s energy providers to exceed environmental emissions standards until power use is reduced.

In Jackson, Mississippi, frigid temperatures are hampering efforts to repair a major water main break late Saturday, causing a loss of water pressure for residents, city officials said.

“Thank you to the cold weather crews who are working to relieve the pressure on residents this Christmas Eve night. Their sacrifices do not go unnoticed and are appreciated not only by this administration, but by all affected residents,” the statement said.

The brutal weather also disrupted travel over the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled Saturday, and more than 1,000 canceled for Christmas Day.

Road conditions were not the best in some parts of the country with whiteout conditions and snow and ice covered roadways.

In New York’s Erie County – watching the storm – about 500 drivers were stranded in their vehicles Friday night into Saturday morning, even though the county’s driving ban was lifted, according to County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

Poloncarz said National Guard troops were called in to “rescue people stuck in vehicles” and provide rides for medical personnel.

In Seattle, Washington, online videos captured cars skidding across icy roads, pushing each other and residents sliding as they walked on sidewalks, CNN affiliate KOMO reported.

New York Governor Cathy Hochul said Saturday. She is asking the federal government for an “emergency declaration that would allow us to seek compensation for the extraordinary costs of our overtime and for joint assistance from other parts of the state.”

In New York, three storm-related deaths were reported in Erie County. The two died in separate incidents after emergency medical personnel were unable to get to their home Friday night, Poloncarz said Saturday morning. Details of the third death, which was confirmed by a county spokeswoman Saturday afternoon, were not immediately available.

“The loss of two lives in Buffalo – related to the storm – because people can’t go to medical care, it’s a crisis situation that can be seen again before your eyes and life-saving ambulances and emergency medical personnel realize that they can’t reach people during the snowstorm. Situation,” Hochul added.

Others are reported to have died in the country in connection with the storm. They include:

• ColoradoPolice in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported two cold-related deaths since Thursday, one found near a building’s power transformer, possibly seeking warmth, and the other found at a roadside campsite.

• KansasThe Kansas Highway Patrol says three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents.

• Kentucky: Authorities say three people have died in the state, including one in a single-vehicle crash in Montgomery County.

Missouri: Kansas City police say one person has died after a hiker slipped on an icy road and plunged into a frozen stream.

• OhioEight people were killed in weather-related crashes early Saturday morning on Interstate 75 when a semi-tractor trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup truck.

• TennesseeThe Tennessee Department of Health confirmed a storm-related death on Friday.

• Wisconsin: The Wisconsin State Patrol reported one fatal crash Thursday due to winter weather.

The storm is forecast to gradually weaken as it moves into southeastern Canada, moving slowly over the next two days and pulling arctic air from Canada into much of the eastern part of the country.

An arctic blast over the eastern two-thirds of the country will gradually ease into Monday, but hazardous conditions will continue into Christmas Day.

The freezing temperatures combined with dangerous wind chills will create life-threatening hazards for stranded hikers, outdoor workers, livestock and pets, the National Weather Service said.

“In some areas, being outdoors can lead to freezing temperatures within minutes,” the weather service warned.

As the cold air continues to blast the warm waters of the Great Lakes, lake-effect storms and storms are expected to continue, but gradually diminish.

Still, early gusts of up to 60 mph will continue to make for extremely dangerous conditions on the road, following the blowing of snow from the Great Lakes.

By Christmas night into Monday, another low pressure system from the Pacific will bring the next wave of moisture to the Pacific Northwest and then northern California, the weather service said.