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Winter storm causes over one hundred car accidents
Officials in Houston, Texas, have warned people to prepare for dangerous disruptions and roads due to a winter storm.
USA TODAY, Storyful
An “unprecedented” winter storm continued its attack on the nation on Monday, leaving millions without power in Texas and wreaking havoc on travel across a wide strip of the central and southern United States due to heavy snow and ice.
As of Monday morning, more than 150 million people were on a winter storm or winter weather alert in 25 states, extending 2,000 miles from southern Texas to northern Maine, the National Weather Service said.
The sharp and bitter cold accompanied the storm across the central United States. Hundreds of daily low temperature records were or will be broken during this prolonged “polar fall”, the weather service said, “with some February records and even low temperature records in jeopardy.” More than 50 million people will be able to see temperatures drop below freezing over the next few days, according to the Capital Weather Gang.
Power outages were widespread on Monday. In Texas alone, more than 2.3 million customers were left in the dark at 8 am local time, according to poweroutage.us, a utility tracking website.
Of Sunday: More pile-ups on icy roads, power outages due to snow, terrible temperatures fueled by polar vortexes cause destruction in much of the country
The rotating power outages were initiated by the Texas Electric Reliability Council, or ERCOT, on Monday morning, meaning that thousands were left without electricity for short periods as temperatures dropped down near Dallas and Houston.
“We ask Texans to put security first,” tweeted the council as it urged residents to reduce electricity use. ERCOT manages the flow of electricity in the state.
Houston, where temperatures reached 70 last Tuesday, had teenage readings on Monday morning, prompting authorities to advise residents to prepare for dangerous roads that may be similar to those experienced after a hurricane. category 5.
In Texas, the storm can really be a “once in a generation” event when you consider the extremely cold conditions, said AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.
The polar vortex, explained
Midwest temperatures are reaching record levels as a powerful polar vortex causes a deep freeze in the eastern half of the United States. The intense cold will bring temperatures below zero to a quarter of the continental United States.
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Thundersnow was reported Monday morning at the southern end of the Gulf Coast in Galveston, Texas, and in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Weather.com reported.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson have activated National Guard units to assist state agencies with tasks, including rescuing arrested drivers.
In a statement on Sunday night, President Joe Biden also declared an emergency in Texas and ordered federal assistance to help state and local response efforts. The statement allows the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance, equipment and resources to people affected by the storm.
Although snow is expected to be decreasing across Texas on Monday, heavy snow and
Freezing rain is expected to advance northeast on Monday from the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys to the northeast, the weather service said. “A wide range of 6 to 12 inches of snow is expected from the Ohio Valley and from the east of the Great Lakes to the north of New England,” according to the weather service.
Texas hammered with snow and ice rarely seen
A winter storm brought snow and ice into the interior of Texas, creating winter scenes in areas unfamiliar to them and causing accidents on many roads.
Accuweather
FlightAware reported more than 2,700 canceled flights across the country on Monday and nearly 150 delays. Another 500 cancellations are scheduled for Tuesday. George Bush International Airport in Houston closed on Monday morning due to the accumulation of ice on the runways.
Meanwhile, in the Pacific Northwest, hundreds of thousands of people remained without power after a winter storm over the weekend covered the region with ice and snow and made travel treacherous. About 300,000 people were powerless in Oregon alone, reported poweroutage.us.
Unfortunately, a second winter storm that is hitting the northwest on Monday will bring more snow and ice to parts of the south, midwest and east later this week, Weather.com said.
Contributing: The Associated Press