CNN
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More than 755,000 homes and businesses across the country were without power on Christmas Eve due to the Arctic blast. The winter storm brought devastating winds, heavy snow and dangerously low temperatures below zero, killing at least 16 people.
As chilly winds sweep across the US this holiday weekend, the storm continues with heavy snow and blizzards across the upper Midwest and parts of the interior Northeast.
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Heavy snow (more than 2 feet in places) and strong winds (occasionally gusts over 60 mph) will occur Friday through Saturday with the chance of zero visibility, especially in Buffalo, New York. More than a foot could fall on Saturday with the wind. Winds gusted to 65 mph and temperatures felt well below freezing.
In Buffalo County, Erie County Executive Mark Polonkarz told CNN that about 500 motorists were trapped in their vehicles between Friday night and Saturday morning, and “a few hundred more” could be trapped as of Saturday afternoon. This is despite the county’s driving ban.
Among those trapped were Leah Bales’ 85-year-old grandmother and her father.
They have been stranded on New York State Route 198 in Buffalo since Friday afternoon, less than a mile from their home. His phone battery has limited communication with him and he turns the heating on and off to save gas.
“I want nothing more than her safety right now,” Bales told CNN on Saturday, adding that her father may walk home, but she will never leave her mother alone.
“I tried to walk to them with a hitchhiker, but the circumstances made it impossible for me,” he said.
The Bells said they got help stopping the car Saturday afternoon but had no way out.
“It’s very stressful and difficult,” he said. “They’re definitely out of stock, but now we see a little hope.”
Bolencarz said that in the most affected areas, many emergency workers trying to reach those trapped found themselves trapped.
“Don’t leave your home,” Poloncarz told CNN on Saturday to anyone thinking of traveling to or from the area. “It’s much safer to be inside, even if it’s only 45 degrees inside and you lose power, than to go outside and deal with minus 20 wind chill and blindness conditions.”
Bollencarz said National Guard troops arrived on Saturday to “rescue those trapped in vehicles” and freed up colleagues working in hospitals to bring in medical staff for more than a day.
Bishop Michael W. Fischer of the Diocese of Buffalo urged churches on Saturday to broadcast Christmas Mass live because of the inclement weather.
“Even though it is Christmas, in these dangerous circumstances, no one should be putting themselves or others at risk,” he said. Gore.
Even where it’s not snowing and thundering, temperatures and wind chills are dangerously high across much of the country.
From the Plains and Midwest to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, and even the Southeast, wind chill was low after sunrise Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
They include:
, atlanta: 9 degrees; minus 8 with wind chill
, Memphis: 10 grade; with a wind chill of minus 4
, New York: 8 degrees; minus 8 with wind chill
, san luis: 9 degrees; minus 12 with wind chill
, Washington DC: 12 degree; with a wind chill of minus 3
At least 16 people have died in seven states as of Wednesday, with dangerous and life-threatening conditions sweeping much of the country this week:
, KansasThe Kansas Highway Patrol said Friday that three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents.
• Kentucky: Officials said three people have died in the state, including a car accident in Montgomery County.
Measurement: Kansas City police say one person has died after a camper fell off an icy road into a frozen creek.
• NYCounty officials said Saturday that there have been three tornado-related deaths in Erie County. Bolancarz said Saturday morning that two people died in separate incidents Friday night when emergency medical personnel failed to reach their homes in time for medical emergencies. Details of the third death, confirmed by a district spokesman Saturday afternoon, were not immediately available.
• Ohio: “Four people have died as a result of weather-related vehicle accidents,” said Governor Mike DeWine.
• Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed one death from the storm on Friday.
• Wisconsin: The Wisconsin State Patrol reported one fatal accident Thursday due to wintry weather.
In pictures: Winter storm hits America
3:15 p.m. and Saturday, 755,210 homes and businesses in america As a result there is no electricity service. PowerOutage.us That means millions of people don’t have enough heat and hot water as freezing temperatures persist into Saturday.
An electricity network operator for at least 13 states in the eastern part of the country. Customers should conserve energy from Saturday morning until 10 a.m. Sunday as utility capacity is overloaded and rolling blackouts can occur if pressure is high.
The operator, PJM Interconnection, serves approximately 65 million people in all or part of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Is. , ,
PJM advised residents to set thermostats lower than normal and stop using large appliances such as stoves and dishwashers.
A video on twitterA company official said the risk of customer outages is “very real”.
In Tennessee, cold weather caused intermittent power outages for customers for a few hours Saturday morning at the behest of the federal state utility, the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Nashville Electric Service Said On Saturday morning customers can expect “rotating and intermittent power outages” in increments of 10 minutes every 90 minutes to two hours.
TVA announces blackout ahead of 11am CT no longer necessary,
TVA said in a statement that it would conduct a “thorough review of our processes, procedures and products after overcoming this unprecedented incident.”
During the rolling blackout, Nashville’s mayor asked the NFL’s Tennessee Titans to postpone their home game against the Houston Texans, scheduled for Saturday afternoon in CT. The NFL initially delayed the start by one hour and said it was “exploring every possibility to reduce non-essential power around the stadium.”
More than 5,000 flights were canceled with thousands of delays and more than 2,900 canceled on Friday and Saturday.
• Cold for many: Freezing will be dangerous across much of the central and eastern United States this weekend. “Death-freezing temperatures and dangerously wind chill will pose a life-threatening risk to stranded travelers,” the National Weather Service said. Said Saturday morning.
• Record temperature in the South: The weather service said Atlanta and Tallahassee, Florida, will see their coldest temperatures on December 24.
• Extreme cold somewhere: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are expected to experience the coldest days on Christmas Eve on Saturday. Washington, D.C. saw its second cold snap on Christmas Eve, the first being in 1989. New York is about to experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. ,
