Newsman: The brutal winter storm lead to at least 37 deaths nationwide and parts of western New York have been buried by up to 43 inches of snow, leaving vehicles stuck and power out for thousands during the Christmas weekend.
Arctic air from a winter storm system engulfed much of the East Coast on Friday, causing power outages and snarling holiday travel with heavy snow, blizzard conditions and dangerously cold temperatures. A weather phenomenon known as a bomb cyclone, essentially a winter hurricane developed Friday. Bomb cyclones are intense winter storms with high winds, heavy blizzards and subzero temperatures created through a process known as bombogenesis.
On Friday, the storm unleashed more heavy snow and blizzard conditions, particularly in the Midwest.High winds produced dangerous wind chill readings across the central and eastern U.S. last night, with the wind chill in Denver reaching minus 36 degrees Fahrenheit and Cheyenne, Wyo., falling to minus 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
The historic winter storm is subjecting roughly 60% of the U.S. population to winter weather advisory or warning Friday, leading to thousands of canceled flights, warming shelters at capacity, and blizzard conditions on the eve of Christmas weekend. and knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses. In Northeast, yet many cities and towns remain covered with thick snow. Over a 24-hour span, Baraga, Michigan, received 42.8 inches of snow while Watertown, New York, got 34.2 inches
The immense frigid blast is creating hazards from the U.S.-Canadian border to the Gulf Coast, and spans the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast. The National Weather Service estimated more than 200 million people were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning in “one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever.”
“This is not like a snow day when you were a kid,” President Joe Biden said Thursday. “This is serious stuff.”
As blistering blizzard conditions swept the region, about 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles Friday night into Saturday morning
New York was hit with everything. New York City felt minus 26 degree during this holiday weekend. “It is throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink. We’ve had ice, flooding, snow, freezing temperatures, and everything that Mother Nature could wallop at us this weekend,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said during the briefing.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told the Media storm is the “most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long storied history.” The heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions made roads impassable with zero visibility froze power substations and left at least 17 people across the state dead as of Sunday night.
Western New York is drowning in thick “lake effect” snow – which forms when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Great Lakes – just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm.
Hundreds of National Guard troops have been deployed to help with rescue efforts in New York. State police had been involved in over 500 rescues by Sunday, including delivering a baby and helping a man with 4% left on his mechanical heart, the governor said.
“We’re still in the throes of this very dangerous life-threatening situation,” governor Hochul said, urging residents to stay off the roads as a driving ban remains in place in Erie County through Monday.
“Our state and county plows have been out there, nonstop, giving up time and putting themselves in danger, driving through blinding snowstorms to clear the roads,” She said.
In the western part of New York, the weather service in Buffalo received numerous reports Friday night of people being stranded along roadways amid ongoing whiteouts and wind chills dropping 20 degrees below.
Deaths reported in Buffalo “are people found outside and in cars,” a Buffalo Police statement read.
Buffalo will continue to see snowfall and frigid cold temperatures Monday, with a high of 23 degrees expected in the daytime and a low of 18 at night, according to the National Weather Service
“Over 200 million people, or roughly 60% of the U.S. population, are under some form of winter weather warnings or advisories across the U.S on Friday,” the weather service said Friday morning.
It has already been blamed for several deaths across the US and wreaked havoc on holiday. More than 5,000 U.S. flights were canceled by 6 p.m. ET Friday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. After high numbers on Thursday, more than 5,300 U.S. flights were canceled and over 8,400 more were delayed Friday as of 6:00 p.m. ET, according to FlightAware.
“This system will have increasingly widespread impacts to travel going into the busy holiday travel time late this week, along with the potential for power outages from the expected high winds, heavy snows, significant icing and overall increased power consumption in places,” NWS said Friday.
More than 1.2 million homes and businesses suffered power outages Friday night, according to PowerOutage.us. States hit the worst include Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Virginia and Tennessee.
Blasted with heavy snow and winds, Buffalo Niagara International Airport in New York closed entirely on Friday and canceled all evening flights.
Airlines have issued waivers in much of the Midwest, Northeast and even parts of the South for some carriers.
A band of heavy lake-effect snow descended over western New York from Buffalo to Niagara County Friday afternoon causing “zero mile” visibility.
The weather service in Buffalo reported that heavy, blowing snow and wind gusts over 60 mph created near whiteout conditions. It shared a video showing the “spectacular view of our parking lot” — blowing snow.
In addition to relentless winds, 2 to 3 feet of total snow was drooped across the region. Temperatures continued to plummet from about 40 degrees down to 10 degrees at the Buffalo airport with wind chills in the negative digits.
The weather service also advised the public to avoid travel.
“Don’t focus too much on the snow totals… Significant blowing and drifting will be occurring. Avoid travel!” the weather service in Buffalo said Friday afternoon.
