An arctic cold front is expected in large parts of America in the next few days, which can cause frostbite within minutes. Thousands of flights have been cancelled.
A United Express plane is de-iced December 22 at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
(dpa)
The US is preparing for a “historic” winter storm just before the Christmas holiday. An arctic cold front will move across parts of the east of the country on the night from Thursday to Friday (December 23, local time), the US weather service warned. The storm low will bring extreme cold, heavy snowfall and icy wind. American media, citing weather experts, warned of the possible emergence of a special and severe storm, a so-called “bomb cyclone”.
This can be caused by the air pressure dropping drastically when cold arctic air meets mild temperatures. The consequences of the “bomb cyclone” are violent winds, heavy precipitation and freezing cold.
Sometimes it gets so cold that there is a risk of frostbite within minutes, the authorities warned. There is a weather warning of some kind for almost 280 million people. The north and midwest of the country are particularly affected – but also the south of the USA. An extreme frost warning has been issued for the states of Louisiana, parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. “Life-threatening” temperatures with high winds are expected in some parts of the country.
President Biden warned all residents to follow the instructions of the authorities and to inform themselves regularly about the weather conditions.
Earlier, I gathered my team for a briefing on the extreme cold and storms we’re seeing across America.
I urge everyone to follow the warnings of local officials – go to https://t.co/VsGFYDDJSt for more information. I stand ready to help communities with whatever they’ll need. pic.twitter.com/eLEi2VoF8b
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 22, 2022
Tourist traffic is affected by weather conditions
Record-breaking low temperatures are also expected in many places. This storm is likely to have widespread impacts on travel, bringing power outages due to expected high winds and snowfall, and causing significant icing, the weather service said.
This is likely to be difficult for many people who want to travel to their families over Christmas. According to media reports, thousands of flights were canceled on Thursday (December 22) and Friday. The airports in Chicago and Detroit are among the most important hubs in the country, and severe snowstorms are expected there. Strong winds, rain and ice could also affect freeways and airports in the east coast metropolises of Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.