The United States is facing one of the greatest cold snaps in its history in the last thirty years. -20°C in Chicago, -9°C in Minneapolis, -16°C in Saint-Louis. These are polar temperatures that affect the center-east of the country this Saturday morning, according to the US weather information site.
These exceptional temperatures caused the death of several people. The US media CNN and the Wall Street Journal identify this Saturday early afternoon, at least 15 people died from the blizzard in seven states, including Ohio (4), Wisconsin (1), Kansas (3), Kentucky (3), Missouri (1), New York State (2) and Tennessee (1).
One million people without electricity
The powerful winter storm is still underway, knocking out power for many Americans in their homes just hours before Christmas Eve. According to the specialized site, PowerOutage.Us, more than a million inhabitants are plunged into darkness this Saturday.
State of emergency declared in several states
More than 175 million Americans are still affected this Saturday by weather alerts for the extreme cold that falls on the country.
The mercury dipped to -19°C tonight in Cincinnati and even -18°C in Detroit. But the lowest temperatures ever recorded in the country even approached minus 30 degrees Celsius in North Dakota, on the Canadian border. And -25°C in Minnesota tonight. And specialists point out that the temperatures that can be felt can be even lower due to the wind and heavy rains.
Heavy snowfall is occurring and the blizzard is still affecting many states. Flightaware listed 5,500 canceled flights in the United States on Friday and more than 1,500 this Saturday, with the most affected airports being Seattle, New York, Chicago and Detroit.
Several states have declared states of emergency, including New York, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Georgia, and North Carolina as the holidays approach.
-13°C expected in New York
This exceptional cold wave is due to a “cyclone bomb” caused by the arrival of very cold air from Canada in the middle of last week, causing impressive drops in temperature in certain States. “Along with this cold snap, a depression quickly deepened due to conflicting air masses,” said Regis Crepet, a Weather Channel meteorologist.
A phenomenon that reinforces the snow storm that crosses the United States and is now heading towards the East Coast. New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina and the state of New York, which have so far been spared, will experience a drastic drop in temperatures this Saturday and Sunday. The city of New York prepares to experience Christmas under -13°C and -12°C for the city of Boston.
Source: BFM TV
