Winter storm to impact at least 180 million across southern, eastern US

More than 180 million people, or half of the country’s population, were expected to be affected by a winter storm that was expected to hit the southern and eastern United States, according to authorities.

The storm, according to the National Weather Service, is expected to start off in the Southern Rockies on Friday and then head north through the Northeast over the weekend with heavy snow, freezing rain, and sleet.

Authorities in states less accustomed to snowy weather were preparing for rain to icy roads on Friday, spreading salt, calling in neighborhood law enforcement and utility workers for backup, and canceling schools in Texas and Oklahoma.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire stated online that “it’s all hands on deck.” We’re anticipating the worst, but we’re hoping for the best.

According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, more than 800 flights into, out of, and within the US were already delayed or canceled on Friday in advance of the storm, including at Dallas, Atlanta, and Oklahoma airports.

Starting late on Friday afternoon and continuing through the rest of the weekend, travel will get more and more dangerous, according to a website post from the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma.

A foot of snow was anticipated from Oklahoma to Washington, DC, New York, and Boston, Massachusetts, which was expected to be brought up by the storm. The Southern Plains to the Northeast would then experience a blast of cold air that would cause wind chills to drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (-46 Celsius) in some parts of Minnesota and North Dakota, in near-record conditions.

The snow and ice’s impact was anticipated to be delayed by the cold weather, causing a delay in the melting.

At least 14 states had declared emergencies as of Friday, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

At a press conference, the state’s governor, Kathy Hochul, stated, “We are used to winter in New York.” We believe we are prepared for this, but complacency is when you face problems.

She said, “This is a very dangerous combination of heavy snow and extreme, extremely cold temperatures, and the risks are so severe that I’m declaring a state of emergency throughout the state of New York,” adding that the designation enables local jurisdictions to deploy state resources.

Governor Abigail Spanberger instructed residents in Virginia to prepare for days without power or the ability to leave their neighborhoods.

The Democrat also made reference to Trump’s nationwide deportation campaign, urging people to use emergency services out of concern for immigration enforcement.

Please do so to ensure the safety of your friends, neighbors, and family while avoiding calls to the police or when having a health emergency calls first responders. Stay warm, Spanberger urged.

After the storm arrives, Arkansas Department of Transportation spokesperson Dave Parker pleaded with residents to be patient and stay home if possible.

According to The Arkansas Advocate, “We’ve got everything working against us.” We’ve got a long storm, which means several days of severe weather, sleet, ice, snow, and freezing rain.

Meanwhile, FEMA urged US residents to prepare for storm-related disruptions, make plans for school and work disruptions, charge power banks, and bring backup medicine.

States in the storm’s path reported a frenzy of online shopping as the snow-shrouded states were expected to close their stores.

Kennedi Mallard and Frank Green, who spoke to The Associated Press news agency outside a busy grocery store in Dallas, Texas, claimed some shelves had already been emptied.

No water, no eggs, no butter, no ground meat, Green said.

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, disputed this claim on his Truth Social account, citing the cold weather as evidence against rising global temperatures brought on by climate change.

Trump incorrectly misinterprets the temporary weather condition with the long-term average of weather patterns in his essay “WHEEPER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING.”

Source: Aljazeera