The human cost is appalling. According to the first estimates of the US authorities, the “snowstorm of the century” that has affected the United States for several days, and which is still far from over, has caused the death of at least 47 people, including 25 in a single county of the state of New York.
Snow, wind and extreme cold
Several states were affected by this extreme weather situation, including Minnesota, located on the Canadian border near the Great Lakes region. With BFMTV, Vanessa, a French expat in Minnesota, looks back on these past few days in the cold.
“The first day we were between -36°C and -40°C,” she says.
“Then the storm passed, there was a lot of extremely heavy snow. Lots of problems on the roads, but we had no power outages, we’re used to having big storms, but this one is extreme compared to what we’re used to.” to live in Minnesota,” she says.
frozen thumbs
According to this same testimony, the hours after the snowfall were also intense. “There was a lot of wind that picked up after the snow, that’s the worst,” Vanessa says again.
According to US authorities, several of the victims were found dead in their cars, while others died of cardiac arrest while trying to shovel snow outside their homes.
“The recommendations are to be outside for less than ten minutes because you can have frozen or frozen extremities,” says the Frenchwoman, who also claims to have paid the price for this very low mercury herself.
“I came out with two pairs of gloves and leg warmers, but despite that my thumbs were almost frozen.”
For the next few hours, authorities in several states in the northeastern United States expect new snowfall that could reach 30 cm in some places while temperatures remain polar.
Source: BFM TV
