Extreme cold wave causes cancellation of 6,000 flights and leads states to declare emergency
A major winter storm threatens to blanket much of the United States with a dangerous mix of freezing rain and heavy snowgenerating conditions “catastrophic” in areas where around 160 million people live.
Several states in the country have declared a state of emergency in the face of this Arctic wave that, according to forecasts, advances from the California coast across a large part of the continental territory, covering the center of the country, including the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains.
It can cause a “catastrophic ice accumulation“, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), and result in “prolonged blackouts, extensive tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions.”
According to meteorologist Ryan Maue, “the next ten days of winter will be the worst in 40 years in the United States“. “Think about where you can go, what you can do and who needs even more help to make it through next week. It’s not an exaggeration or a joke,” he said, asking people to prepare for temperatures lower than -18°C.
More than 6 thousand weekend flights have already been canceledindicates the tracker FlightAwareincluding many in Texas.
In this southern state, many remember the calamity caused by a similar storm in February 2021, with more than 200 deaths related to hypothermia, carbon monoxide inhalation poisoning and accidents.
Texas officials have promised that the power grid, which failed massively during that storm five years ago and left millions without electricity, is prepared this time.
Gov. Greg Abbott said there is “no expectation that a power outage will occur on the electrical grid,” which “is fully capable of handling this winter storm.”
Migrants welcome
After this experience, in Houston, the most populous city in the state, 12 shelters were opened.
“There will be a very severe storm that few residents in Houston have ever experienced […] Probably 48 hours of freezing temperatures,” the city’s mayor, John Withmire, said this Friday at a press conference.
He explained that the shelters will be open to people and pets, and that they are looking for homeless people who sleep under overpasses.
Furthermore, amid the severe raids against irregular immigrants carried out by the Donald Trump administration, the mayor clarified that, although his actions are in accordance with the law, the authorities use common sense.
“Everyone is welcome in our shelters, we do not ask for legal status, that is not part of our job, we are compassionate,” he declared.
In several Houston supermarkets, basic necessities were running out quickly.
“This time I have a generator and I’m ready, I have enough reserve, provisions, everything. I don’t think it will be as bad as five years ago. It can’t be,” said Clinton Moore, 63, after getting water at a supermarket in the north of the city.
In New York state, Governor Kathy Hochul warned of extreme cold, which could make even short trips outside dangerous.
Hochul said the state has mobilized thousands of utility workers, snow removal machines and emergency responders to keep roads open, restore power and protect people at risk.
polar vortex
The link between climate change and winter storms — in this case, when the polar vortex, normally confined to the North Pole, shifts south — is not obvious at first glance.
However, researchers point out that the number of these storms has been increasing in the last 20 years. This may be due to the fact that the Arctic is warming at a higher rate than the global averagean uneven warming that, according to some scientists, contributes to the polar vortex extending over North America.
Experts, however, warn that simplistic conclusions should not be drawn that directly link this phenomenon to human-caused climate change.
O President Donald Trump, skeptical in relation to the science of climate change, he did not miss the opportunity to speak out on the topic.
“A record cold wave is expected to hit 40 states. Rarely have we seen anything like this. Could environmental insurgents please explain what happened to global warming?”, the Republican leader posted on his Truth Social platform.
*With information from AFP
