US & Canada hit with heavy winter storm leading to power cut

C: https://www.ctvnews.ca/

In various states, more than 650,000 individuals are without electricity. It is because of a severe Arctic winter storm that moves through the US and Canada. Damage-causing winds and frosty temperatures brought on by the storm can cause frostbite very quickly. As the storm worsens, major airports have canceled thousands of flights.

Numerous individuals were still without power as of Friday morning from Maine to Texas. It is a result of the strong winds that tore down power lines in the eastern US. Over 160,000 homes were without power on Friday. The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec are preparing for winter storm conditions.

Due to “prolonged and intense weather conditions” across Canada, the airline WestJet has also canceled flights for Friday. Forecasters predict that this storm will also bring the iciest Christmas in a generation. It even affects Florida, a place known for its warm weather.

El Paso, Texas, recently reached undocumented immigrants who are sleeping rough on the streets. From Colorado to Wyoming and up into Minnesota, the storm has already caused devastation. Wyoming Highway Patrol documented 104 collisions and had 787 calls for assistance in only 12 hours.

Robert Oliver is the emergency manager for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. He reported that employees were attempting to remove roads that, in some places, had about 10 feet (3 meters) of snow on them. In one incident, the rescue of those trapped in their homes had to be put on hold.

It is because the hydraulic fluid in heavy equipment had frozen. Along with the storm itself, there are concerns about power outages. As a result, some service providers are already advising their clients to lower their thermostats.

As the storm advances, Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, proclaimed a state of emergency. The possibility of flooding and ice jams “are going to cause a lot of devastation in our neighborhood,” she predicted. Frostbite occurs when big chunks of ice stop a river’s flow, which can result in flooding.

Credits: BBC

Henry Chan