CNN
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the big winter storm hitting the United States with plummeting temperatures from coast to coast has left thousands of people without power and prompted more than a dozen governors to create emergency response plans ahead of the weekend. end of Christmas.
The storm – on track to get even stronger on Friday – delivered heavy snow and ice, creating gloomy road conditions with poor visibility, leaving some drivers stranded in unbearably freezing temperatures.
Travel is also hampered, with hundreds of miles of road closures and flight cancellations grow rapidly.
Ahead of the holiday weekend, more than 200 million people in the United States are under wind chill alert from the Canadian border to the Mexican border and from Washington state to Florida, with wind chills below freezing. expected in the southeast by Friday. Other winter weather alerts are in effect for blizzard conditions, ice, snow, and flooding.
The National Weather Service Watch warning graphic depicts one of the largest spans of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” the agency said Thursday.
Notably, parts of Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming have already experienced wind chills below minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit for the past two days.
“The ongoing major winter storm will continue to produce areas of heavy snow, strong winds and life-threatening wind chills through Saturday. If you are traveling for the holidays, please exercise extreme caution and pay attention to the latest forecasts and updates,” the National Weather Service said Thursday.
On Friday, the storm is expected to trigger heavier snow and blizzard conditions, especially in the Midwest.
As it tracks east across the country, the storm is expected to become a bomb cyclone, a rapidly strengthening storm dropping 24 millibars of pressure in 24 hours. Pressure from the storm is expected to match that of a Category 2 hurricane as it moves through the Great Lakes on Friday.
The storm is also hitting southern locations unaccustomed to such extreme winter conditions. According to poweroutage.us.
Governors in at least 13 states, including in the South like Georgia and North Carolina, have put in place emergency measures to respond to the storm. Declarations of states of emergency in several states have included the activation of National Guard units.
Additionally, more than 2,600 flights have already been canceled on Friday due to the storm.
- It will remain very cold: Friday will bring record high temperatures to large swathes of the United States, including the lower Mississippi Valley, northeastward into the Tennessee and Ohio valleys and extending to large sections of the east. from the southeast, across the south to the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic, according to the National Weather Service.
- Dangerous wind chills: The drop in temperatures will be accompanied by high winds, which will create dangerous wind chills across much of the central and eastern United States.
- Blizzard warnings: The Upper Midwest will experience freezing temperatures, heavy snowfall and high winds. The warning applies to parts of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Michigan. Buffalo, New York will experience a blizzard warning Friday morning. Such warnings come into effect when snow and 35 mph winds will reduce visibility to less than a quarter mile for at least three hours.
- Whiteout conditions: Blizzard conditions can exist even if snowfall stops, as high winds can pick up snow already on the ground and cause low visibility.
In pictures: Winter storm hits the United States
One of the biggest dangers of the storm, besides the heavy snow and blizzard conditions, is the rapid drop in temperatures over a short period of time. The air will continue to cool, especially during the night hours.
More cities are experiencing a rapid drop in temperatures as the arctic air that swept across much of the western United States and the Great Plains this week heads east.
Denver: Over an hour, Denver International Airport saw a 37-degree drop Wednesday, preliminarily the largest one-hour drop on record there, according to the National Weather Service.
Chicago: As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, Chicago’s temperature dropped 38 degrees — in wind chill terms, a drop of 53 degrees, from 27 degrees Fahrenheit to minus 26.
St. Louis: Over 24 hours Tuesday through Wednesday evening, St. Louis temperature 44 degrees – in wind chill terms, a drop of 61 degrees, from 31 to minus 30.
Memphis: For six hours Wednesday afternoon and night, the temperature in Memphis dropped 36 degrees – in wind chill terms, a drop of 54 degrees, from 40 to minus 14.
Nashville: In just two hours on Wednesday night, Nashville’s temperature plummeted 29 degrees — in wind chill terms, a drop of 41 degrees, from 39 to minus 2.
Dallas: By nine o’clock on Wednesday, Dallas’ temperature dropped 31 degrees – in wind chill terms, a drop of 44 degrees, from 40 to minus 4.
Little Rock, Arkansas: For nine hours Wednesday afternoon and night, the temperature in Little Rock dropped 36 degrees – in wind chill terms, a drop of 52 degrees, from 41 to minus 11.
Cheyenne, Wyoming: Within about an hour, temperatures in Cheyenne dropped 43 degrees. The capital also experienced a temperature drop of 30 degrees in 10 minutes.
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