The South is being hit by a rare winter storm, leaving millions in Texas without power on Monday, as officials struggle to react to snow and low temperatures in states that normally face neither.
Much of the United States – more than 150 million people in 25 states – is facing a winter storm warning, winter weather warning or ice storm warning, according to the National Weather Service and USA Today.
Storms and low temperatures are extending further south than normal, with single-digit temperatures recorded as far south as San Antonio, according to The Associated Press.
Southern states have faced widespread power cuts, with Texas being the largest with more than 2.8 million households losing electricity as temperatures drop, according to poweroutage.us.
The Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) switched to rotary outages on Monday morning, cutting power to thousands of homes at a time to manage high demand.
“Every network operator and every electricity company is struggling to restore power now,” said ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness in a statement.
The weather interrupted 400,000 shipments of COVID-19 vaccine expected in the state this week, delaying their arrival until at least Wednesday, the Texas State Department of Health Services told the AP.
Travel was also affected, as authorities warned drivers to stay off the road due to several weather-related accidents in at least Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Kentucky. More than 3,000 flights delayed, according to FlightAware, with more than 1,700 involving Dallas-fort Worth International and Bush Intercontinental airports.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) issued a statewide disaster declaration before the weekend in preparation for the weather eventand other states, including Oklahoma, declared a state of emergency. The National Guard has been activated to respond to the weather in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
President biden
Joe Biden Winter storm hits southern USA. Biden writes a Valentine’s Day post for Biden’s wife plans to focus on coronavirus at the first G7 meeting approved an emergency disaster declaration for all 254 Texas counties on Sunday night, activating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to respond.