Kansas City, Mo. (AP) – A dangerous mix of below-zero temperatures, high winds and blizzard conditions is set for a large swath of the United States Wednesday and disrupts plans for millions of holiday travelers.
Forecasters say the blast of cold weather coming on the first day of winter will hit the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies with blistering cold and blanket the Midwest with heavy snowfall. By Friday, the Arctic front will push south into places that don’t hold back as well in the cold, like the Gulf Coast.
Authorities across the country are concerned about the possibility of power outages and have warned people to take precautions and postpone travel if possible to protect the elderly, homeless and livestock.
Wind chills down to minus 70 degrees (minus 57 degrees Celsius) could be seen across much of the northern-most parts of the US in the coming days.
Even states with warm climates are preparing for the worst. Texas officials are hoping to avoid a repeat of the February 2021 storm, which left millions without power, some for several days. Temperatures were expected to reach near freezing as far south as central Florida by the weekend, raising concerns for the homeless.
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There will be a huge drop in temperature. In Denver, Wednesday’s high temperature will be near 50 degrees (10 °C); By Thursday, it is expected to fall below almost zero (minus 18 Celsius).
The heaviest snow is expected in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, according to the National Weather Service, and cold winds will blow across the central part of the country.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a lot of delay due to wind and also a lot of delay due to snow,” said Bob Oraweck, chief forecaster for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.
Flights nationwide were generally scheduled through Tuesday afternoon, but not in Seattle. Nearly 200 flights were canceled at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Tuesday morning due to a combination of snow, rain and low visibility. Greyhound canceled bus service between Seattle and Spokane, Washington due to winter weather.
In Oregon, a man was killed Tuesday in a crash on Interstate 84 near Rooster Rock State Park when a semi-truck collided with his SUV. Police said the thin layer of ice on the highway could be a contributing factor.
According to AAA, nearly 113 million Americans were expected to travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday season, up 4% from last year but down from the record 119 million in 2019. Most were planning to travel by car; About 6% were planning to fly.
Several inches of snow were expected from Chicago to the Great Lakes region through Friday. Snow was also forecast in the lower Midwest. With the storm approaching, Delta, American, United and Southwest Airlines said they were waiving change fees for people at airports affected by the inclement weather.
Snow and near-record cold temperatures prompted winter storm warnings across Montana. The National Weather Service predicted wind-chill levels that could drop as low as minus 60 degrees (minus 51 degrees Celsius) by Thursday morning. Exposed skin can be frostbitten within minutes.
Almost inexplicably, the forecast was even worse for parts of Wyoming. The 1,500-resident town of Lusk could see a wind chill of minus 70 degrees (minus 57 degrees Celsius). ,
“Please take precautions: check elderly/vulnerable people, protect pets, shelter animals, cover exposed skin!” Seva said on Twitter.
Karina Jones’ family herds about 400 cattle in north-central Nebraska near Broken Bow, where wind chills of minus 50 degrees (minus 46 degrees Celsius) are expected Thursday and Friday morning. She said that Nebraska cattlemen are “a hearty bunch”, but the bitter cold is tough.
“Ranchers” wake up at night praying that you did everything you could for your cattle, Jones said.
In Kansas, where up to 4 inches of snow is expected with wind chills down to minus 40 degrees below zero (minus 40 Celsius), Shawn Tiffany runs three feedlots with a combined total of about 35,000 head of cattle. He worries about keeping the 40 employees safe and warm.
“Every conversation I’ve had in the last four days has been ‘Are you ready and are you ready?’ Everyone is taking it very seriously,” Tiffany said.
In Texas, where temperatures are expected to drop to around 11 degrees (minus 12 Celsius), the state’s power grid will once again be put to the test.
A historic freeze in February 2021 sparked one of the largest power outages in US history, knocking out power for 4 million customers in Texas and killing hundreds.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s power grid, said last week that it expected to generate enough to meet anticipated electricity demand during this week’s winter outburst. The council said it has implemented reforms to increase reliability, including bringing more generation online when needed and buying more reserve power.
But a report on the power grid published by ERCOT last month said Texans could still face potential power outages this winter if extreme storms prompted too much demand for electricity.
Deep-freeze would be especially dangerous for the homeless. In Kansas City, Missouri, emergency shelters are opening for anyone in need of warmth, food or protection. However, organizers have warned that capacity is limited overnight.
“The more we can be, the more we’re going to get,” said Carl Ploeger, chief development officer for City Union Mission, a Christian nonprofit.
If shelters are over capacity at night, the mission works with other organizations to try and find alternative places for people.
“If we’re full and some other source is full, they’re going to have to figure out how to keep themselves warm. We try to avoid that, we don’t want that to happen, especially in dangerous situations.”
Cities in northern Florida like Tallahassee experienced lows of minus 20 (minus 3 Celsius) on Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas night. The forecast calls for temperatures as far south as Tampa to drop near freezing.
Lozano reported from Houston, and Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, Julie Walker in New York, Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Jill Zeman Bled in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit and Amy Hanson in Helena, Montana contributed to this report.
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