US Winter Storm Brings Coldest Christmas In Decades:
US Winter Storm Brings Coldest Christmas In Decades
Washington: A major winter storm sweeping the US this week may bring the coldest Christmas in four decades to parts of the country, say forecasters. According to the forecasts the arctic blast is will deliver the coldest Christmas to the Midwest since the late 1980s. The Weather Channel named it the Winter Storm Elliot. The “once-in-a-generation” cold snap began in the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday, before churning east. It is will become a “bomb cyclone” by Friday.
More than 90M people are under winter weather alerts across 37 states. About 80pc of the nation will experience sub-zero temperatures, including places as far south as Texas. Even Florida the Sunshine State will see its coldest Christmas in 30 years.
Bone-chilling temperatures of -50F (-45C) and -70F are may grip some parts of the country over the weekend. Wind chills of this magnitude can cause frostbite in less than five minutes. Hypothermia and death also possible from prolonged exposure to the cold,” said its advisory.
NWS has called it a once-in-a-generation winter weather event, especially as the storm reaches the Great Lakes region. Here its pressure can reach the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane.
The governors of Kentucky and North Carolina have declared states of emergency. Snowy conditions and freezing roadways may wreak travel chaos this weekend.
“We had a great Thanksgiving week with minimal disruption,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told cable channel MSNBC on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, it’s not going to be that way going into Christmas.”
Hundreds of flights from Denver and Chicago already stand cancelled. The lowest temperature in Denver is will plummet to -16F on Thursday Morning.
The Denver Coliseum, an indoor arena, is converted into a warming center. Chicago is warned to prepare for heavy snowfall starting on Thursday whipped around by gusts topping 50mph (80km/h).
As the storm develops, meteorologists anticipate it will turn into a “bomb cyclone”
