Severe cold temperatures threaten millions in US

NEW YORK, January 28 ------ Perilously cold temperatures threatened millions of Americans in the wake of a sprawling winter storm that left at least 23 people dead as it knocked out power and paralyzed transportation. A frigid, life-threatening Arctic air mass could delay recovery as municipalities from New Mexico to Maine tried to dig out following the storm, which dropped a vicious cocktail of heavy snow and wind, along with freezing rain and sleet.

Forecasters warned that much of the northern half of the country will see temperatures that are “continuously below freezing through February 1,” and “record low temperatures tonight across the South are particularly dangerous in the wake of the weekend winter storm with many still without power,” the National Weather Service said in an X post. While skies began clearing in parts the country, relentless snowfall in the northeast meant parts of Connecticut saw over 56 centimeters of snow, with more than 40.6 cm recorded in Boston, Massachusetts.

The storm was linked to at least 23 deaths, according to a compilation of state government and local media reports, with causes including hypothermia as well as accidents related to traffic, sledding, ATVs and snowplows.

In New York City, eight more people were found dead amid plummeting temperatures, and an investigation to determine the causes was underway. It was not known if all of these fatalities were storm-related. Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana -- southern states unaccustomed to intense winter weather -- were especially impacted. Approximately 190 million people in the United States were under some form of extreme cold alert, the National Weather Service (NWS) told AFP.

The Great Lakes region’s residents woke up to extreme temperatures that could cause frostbite on exposed skin within minutes. In parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the NWS reported early Monday morning temperatures as low as -23F (-30.6C), with windchills exacerbating the bite.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell told journalists that trees were continuing to fall under the weight of encrusted ice across the Tennessee capital city -- sometimes knocking out power that had already been restored. NWS meteorologist Allison Santorelli told AFP this storm recovery was particularly arduous because so many states were impacted -- meaning northern states with more winter supplies were unable to share their resources with less-prepared southern regions.

Polar vortex

At least 20 states and the capital, Washington, were under states of emergency in order to deploy emergency personnel and resources. The snowfall and biting icy pellets that pummeled cities left impassable roads along with canceled buses, trains, and flights -- thousands of departures and arrivals were scrapped over the weekend. The storm system was the result of a stretched polar vortex, an Arctic region of cold, low-pressure air that normally forms a relatively compact, circular system but sometimes morphs into a more oval shape, sending cold air pour scientists say the increasing frequency of such disruptions may be linked to climate change, though the debate is not settled, and natural variability plays a role.

Source: manilatimes.net