Stretching from New Mexico to the Carolinas, millions of Americans are bracing for a potentially devastating ice storm that could bring down trees, snap power lines and leave communities without power for days.
Meanwhile, cities including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston could get enough snow to make travel extremely dangerous or nearly impossible, forecasters warned, according to the AP.
According to a Reuters report, Brian Hurley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said 10 to 25 cm of heavy wet snow should begin to fall on Saturday, with temperatures dropping into the low 20s Fahrenheit (minus 5.5C, the average forecast was as low as 7C overnight in Boston) in Washington. Fahrenheit (minus 14 C).
The NWS said Thursday afternoon that roughly 160 million people, nearly half of the U.S. population, were under various winter storm warnings and advisories. These warnings covered a large area, stretching from Arizona and Montana in the west to the Carolinas and Maine in the east.
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The storm is forecast to begin Friday and continue through the weekend, bringing heavy snow and a wide variety of wintry weather, including freezing rain and sleet. Forecasters say an atmospheric river of moisture could form over the weekend, spreading precipitation across Texas and other Gulf Coast states, then moving across Georgia and the Carolinas before heading further northeast.
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East Coast meteorologists, who are increasingly confident the storm will hit major cities, said: “Snowfall amounts could reach a foot or more in major cities along I-95 from DC to Boston. Forecasters at the NWS office serving Washington and Baltimore warned that the region could face serious hazards as heavy snow and ice combine with prolonged, bitterly cold temperatures to create major threats to life and property across much of the region.”
‘Code Blue’
As the storm approached, New York state was expected to remain under “Code Blue,” a measure that requires social service agencies to extend shelter hours and ensure homeless residents have access to safe and warm spaces, as reported by Reuters. Chicago is forecast to plunge into a deep freeze, with temperatures dropping to 2 degrees below zero Fahrenheit on Friday and Saturday, along with a dangerous chill of around 30 below zero (minus 34°C).
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Meanwhile, in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency, mobilizing additional personnel and equipment to help manage traffic, monitor power outages and conduct rescues for people affected by the storm. He also urged residents to stay alert and take precautions, urging Texans to “stay informed about the weather, check DriveTexas.org before traveling and heed the directions of state and local officials.”
Forecasters said the system should move out of most areas by late Sunday or early Monday, but the intense cold will persist. An Arctic blast moving south from Canada could keep temperatures extremely cold, with Fargo, North Dakota expected to reach 5 degrees below zero on Saturday.
Key things
- The NWS said Thursday afternoon that roughly 160 million people, nearly half of the U.S. population, were under various winter storm warnings and advisories.
- Forecasters on the East Coast who are increasingly convinced that the storm will hit major cities
- The storm is forecast to begin Friday and continue through the weekend, bringing heavy snow and a wide variety of wintry weather
