Snowstorms and cold in the United States: at least 11 dead and more than 4.3 million people without electricity

The cold snap hitting much of the United States will continue to spread this Tuesday after claim the lives of at least 11 people and leave 4.3 million without electricity, even in southern states like Texas, with generally moderate temperatures.

The National Meteorological Service (NWS) warned of a “unprecedented vast area of ​​dangerous winter conditions“From the east coast to the west, with more than 150 million Americans under winter weather warnings.

While a new storm is expected in the Great Lakes region (northeast), the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, this Monday ordered the emergency services to prepare to face “snow, ice and high winds across the state for the next two days“.

Freezing rains, snowfall, blizzards and polar cold have plagued the United States for several days. Authorities urged people to exercise caution when traveling in these dangerous conditions.

“We did not survive nearly a year of pandemic to lose people to a snowstorm or ice storm“Said the governor of Kentucky, Andrew Beshear.

Multiple collision caused by ice on a freeway near Dallas on the left at least six dead and dozens injured last Thursday.

Louisiana authorities on Monday confirmed the death of a man in the town of Lafayette, the first related to bad weather in the southern state.

A man also died in a car crash when moving over an ice cap in Kentucky, according to CBS.

In addition, boy died after falling into icy pond in Tennessee, as police told local media; Yes an old man died in texas, which brought the death toll from the cold snap to 11.

No longer accustomed to heating up records, Texas was particularly affected by this historic polar wave.

A thick blanket of snow covers the streets, trees and cars of the state capital, Austin. Some places have even experienced temperature drops of down to -18 degrees Celsius this weekend, while Houston hit -9 degrees.

Texan city dwellers are kept indoors, especially children, who cannot go out for lack of sufficiently warm clothes in this state where the average temperatures are generally around 20 degrees.

Forecasts indicate that extreme conditions will extend further south. The NWS warned that “severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and warm temperatures are expected in South Georgia and Florida.”

President Joe biden on Sunday signed a declaration of emergency for Texas, providing federal aid to supplement state aid.

Cold files

Besides Texas, other states such as Alabama, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mississippi and Oregon – where 300,000 people are without electricity – they declared a state of emergency.

More than 3,000 flights were canceled across the country on Monday according to the FlightAware website.

“More than 150 million Americans live in a place where extreme cold warnings have been implemented, freezing rain or snowstorm watch alerts, ”the NWS said Monday.

“This spectacular cold wave that hit the continental United States is linked to the combination of an arctic high with subzero temperatures and a very active low with waves of precipitationSaid the entity.

“Hundreds of cold records have already been and will continue to be recorded during this polar cold snap,” the NWS added.

In the center of the country, Temperatures have already reached record highs over the weekend of -45 degrees Celsius in parts of Minnesota, one of the coldest states in the United States.

Temperatures are estimated could fall well below seasonal averages in the center and southern plains of the country until Tuesday, the meteorological services warned.

(With information from AFP)

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