US winter storm: A ‘historic’ weather event hits the US with temperatures dropping to -45°C | US news

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Tens of millions of Americans experienced bone-chilling temperatures, blizzard conditions, power outages and canceled Christmas plans as a severe winter storm ravaged much of the country.

More than 200 million people – about 60% of the US population – were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday, the National Weather Service said, calling it a “historic winter storm.”

Temperatures dropped across the central states, with the mercury dropping to -50 degrees Fahrenheit (-45.6 degrees Celsius) in Montana.

Places like Des Moines, Iowa, will experience -37 degrees Fahrenheit (-38 degrees Celsius) making it possible to get frostbite in less than five minutes, according to the National Weather Service.

More than 1.4 million homes and businesses lost power on Friday morning and holiday travel plans were revised as more than 3,100 flights to and from US airports were canceled the day before Christmas Eve.

Fatalities have already begun to be reported, with three deaths recorded so far on roads in Kentucky, according to the state’s governor.

The storm has now intensified into a bomb hurricane according to the National Weather Service, which says the storm’s barometric pressure has dropped quickly enough in the past 24 hours to classify the system as such.

The massive storm swept from border to border. In Canada, British Columbia hit a low of -62.7 F (-52.6 C). And in Mexico, migrants waited near the US border in freezing temperatures for a court decision to lift asylum restrictions.

Floridians have been warned to look out for iguanas falling from trees because sub-zero temperatures can immobilize the cold-blooded creatures, causing them to lose their grip and fall to the ground.

Photo: overnight lows from Friday night to Saturday morning (temperatures Celsius)

More than 181 million people received wind chill alerts and 11 million were affected by blizzard warnings. Meteorologists said temperatures in some areas dropped by more than 30 degrees in a matter of minutes.

By the time the weather system transitions, an estimated 192 million people in 46 states will have experienced wind chills below zero.

Hundreds of drivers stranded

In South Dakota, more than 100 drivers were stranded when an Arctic blast hit the state with sub-zero temperatures.

While authorities worked to rescue those stranded, the local sheriff’s office told drivers to stay in their cars and call 911.

Rosebud Sioux Tribal Emergency Director Robert Oliver said tribal authorities are working to clear roads to get propane and firewood to homes, but are facing relentless winds that have caused drifts of more than 10 feet in places. He said five have died in recent storms, including a blizzard last week.

In Minnesota, police responded to nearly 50 car crashes between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

The state patrol said the wet roads also caused 118 car rollovers and a semi-truck collision.

In South Dakota, a winter storm system has left some motorists stranded on city streets, according to the Bennington County Sheriff’s Office. Workers removed people from their cars throughout the night. An image from the agency showed people sleeping on makeshift beds on the floor of a building.

Photo: Snowfall in Boston, Massachusetts

“It’s not like a snowy day when I was a kid.”

President Joe Biden warned Americans not to take the storm too seriously.

“It’s not like a snow day when I was a kid,” he said after a briefing from federal officials.

Image: Joe Biden urged the public to take Storm seriously

“This is serious stuff.”

High demand in homeless shelters

In Portland, Oregon, officials have opened four emergency shelters. In the city center, Stephen Venus attempts to ride a light rail train to get out of the cold after huddled on the platform overnight in sub-zero temperatures.

“My toes were freezing,” he said, a sleeping bag wrapped around his head, as he parked near a flimsy tent in which another homeless person was sheltering.

Courtney Dodds, a spokeswoman for Union Gospel Mission, said teams from her organization have been coming out to try to get people to seek shelter.

“It can be really easy for people to fall asleep and end up losing their lives because of the cold weather,” she said.

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