US winter storm chaos: 1 million in dark, thousands of flights grounded
Around 15,000 flights were canceled in the country in just a few days (Photo: Getty Images)
On Sunday, January 25, a winter storm continued to hit the US, paralyzing the southeastern states. As a result, more than 1 million consumers, including in New Mexico in the west, lost power, and over 10,000 flights were canceled, according to Reuters.
The agency reports that snow, sleet, rain, and extremely low temperatures hit two-thirds of the eastern US again that day. Consequently, power outages continued to rise across the country.
According to PowerOutage, as of 19:16 GMT, over 1 million consumers in the US were without electricity. This includes at least 330,000 in Tennessee and more than 100,000 each in Mississippi and Louisiana. Other affected states include Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia, and Alabama.
Additionally, according to flight tracking site FlightAware, more than 10,800 US flights scheduled for Sunday were canceled. The day before, on Saturday, over 4,000 flights were canceled across the country.
Reuters notes that on January 25, the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport administration announced the cancellation of all flights for the day. FlightAware data showed that more than 80% of flights were canceled at several major city airports, including New York, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and airports in North Carolina.
According to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service, from Sunday through Monday morning, heavy snowfall is expected from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast. In New England, snow totals could reach up to 45 cm. Most of the Southeast and parts of the Mid-Atlantic region are expected to see rain and freezing rain.
Reuters added that meteorologists are predicting extremely low temperatures and dangerous wind chills from the Southern Plains to the Northeast after the storm, which could result in prolonged hazardous conditions on roads and infrastructure.
What preceded this
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump called the winter storms historic and approved the declaration of a federal emergency due to the natural disaster affecting South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia.
That same day, the US Department of Homeland Security reported that 18 states had declared a weather-related emergency.
Officials warned that power lines could be particularly vulnerable due to ice accumulation. For context, on January 24, only about 100,000 consumers were without electricity.
Additionally, on Saturday, 3 bodies were found on the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York, with preliminary reports suggesting their deaths may be linked to the sudden cold snap.
