By Euronews with AP
Published on
At least 30 deaths were reported as a severe winter storm pummelled much of the United States, with many states facing below-freezing temperatures and no electricity.
Roughly two-thirds of the US is gripped by the bitter cold, with areas in the Midwest, South and Northeast heavily affected. A new surge of Arctic air is expected to prolong freezing temperatures in areas already blanketed in snow and ice.
Areas north of Pittsburgh saw up to 50 centimetres of snow and felt wind chills as low as 31 degrees Celsius late Monday, according to The National Weather Service. New York saw its snowiest day in years, with some areas recording up to 38 centimetres of snow.
Forecasters warned that another winter storm could hit parts of the East Coast this weekend.
As arctic temperatures persist, the death toll rose to at least 30. Victims include two people run over by snowplows in Massachusetts and Ohio, teenagers killed in fatal sledding accidents in Arkansas and Texas, and a woman frozen to death and found covered in snow after she had left a bar in Kansas. In New York City, officials reported that at least eight people were found dead outdoors.
Heavy snowfall stretching from Arkansas to New England caused widespread travel disruptions, flight cancellations, and school closures.
The country experienced over 12,000 flight delays or cancellations. On Sunday, 45% of US flights were cancelled, the highest rate since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Hundreds of thousands were left without electricity with more than 560,000 power outages reported on Monday evening, mostly in the country’s South.
In Mississippi, the state’s worst ice storm since 1994 was recorded. Officials rushed to deliver cots, blankets, bottled water and generators to warning stations in hard-hit regions.
Meanwhile, in Nashville, Tennessee, electricity was restored to thousands of homes and businesses on Monday, though about 146,000 remained without power. Many hotels were sold out overnight as residents sought to escape their dark and frigid homes.