A severe cold wave continues to grip much of the United States, leaving a trail of fatalities and widespread disruption in its wake. A brutal polar vortex has been blamed for the deaths of at least 30 people and has left over 600,000 homes without power. Air travel has been brought to a near standstill.
Meteorologists attribute the extreme weather to a phenomenon known as a ‘polar vortex,’ which has plunged temperatures to unprecedented lows and paralyzed daily life across a significant portion of the country. Since last Saturday, the storm has led to the cancellation of more than 19,000 flights, causing widespread chaos at airports.
In the Great Lakes region, residents awoke to temperatures hovering around -20 degrees Celsius. Parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin recorded temperatures below -30 degrees Celsius, according to the National Weather Service. Conditions are expected to worsen in the coming days with the arrival of an even colder arctic air mass, particularly in the central states, where wind chill values could reach as low as -45 degrees Celsius.
Heavy snowfall, exceeding 30 centimeters in approximately 20 states, has also contributed to widespread power outages. Reports indicate that nearly 600,000 customers remained without electricity. The southern United States has been particularly affected, where ice accumulation has caused power lines to collapse.
Tennessee and Mississippi are among the hardest-hit states, with approximately 200,000 and 147,000 people, respectively, without power. Experts warn that power outages could persist for several days, citing the challenges authorities face in recovery efforts due to limited resources and the unfamiliarity of these regions with such extreme weather conditions.
Some experts are calling this storm one of the worst to hit the United States in recent decades, warning that the accompanying ice accumulation could have potentially ‘catastrophic’ consequences. The National Weather Service has issued warnings urging residents to take extreme precautions.
