Woes from deadly storm continue

Whole country

Millions crouched in the freezing cold Sunday morning, weathering a frigid storm that killed at least 24 people across the United States and is expected to claim many more.

Carolyn Thompson, Jake Breiburg, Associated Press

Dec 26, 2022 | 8:15am

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Fierce temperatures will continue this week and dangerous roads from deadly winter storms that hit much of the United States.

Severe storms are expected to kill at least 34 people across the United States, trap some residents inside their homes, and claim many more after power outages to tens of thousands of homes and businesses. .

Extreme weather has ranged from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the US population faced some kind of winter weather advisory or warning, with temperatures well below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachian Mountains.

The National Weather Service said Sunday that frigid Arctic air “envelops much of the eastern half of the United States.”

This is particularly unwelcome news for Buffalo, where hurricane-force winds and snow have created whiteout conditions that have paralyzed emergency response efforts.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said nearly all fire trucks in the city were stranded Saturday, and on Sunday pleaded with people to respect the ongoing driving ban in the area. officials said the airport will be closed until Tuesday morning. Total snowfall at Buffalo Niagara International Airport was 43 inches (1.1 meters) as of 7 a.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

A huge snowdrift has nearly covered the cars, and there are thousands of houses, some decorated with holiday displays that don’t have electricity, and are underpowered and dark.

With snow swirling over pristine, impassable streets, forecasters predicted an additional 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) in some areas by early Monday morning in gusts of wind up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour. I warned you that it might snow. Police said there were two “isolated” cases of looting during the storm on Sunday night.

Two people died Friday at their suburban home in Cheektowaga, New York. Because the paramedics weren’t there in time to treat their condition. Erie County Administrator Mark Polonkers said 10 people died during the storm, including six in Buffalo, and warned that more could be dead.

“Some were found in cars, others were found on the road in snowmen,” Polonkaerts said. “I know people who have been stuck in their cars for more than two days.”

Sub-zero conditions and power outages caused the Buffalonians to rush to get anywhere in the heat. Hochol calls it the city’s longest-lasting blizzard ever. But with all-white roads, it wasn’t an option for people like Jeremy Manahan, who charged his cell phone in a parked car after nearly 29 hours of power outages.

“We have one warming shelter, but it’s too far to get there. “And he can’t be outside for more than 10 minutes without getting frostbite.”

Dijak Ilunga of Gaithersburg, Md., was en route to spending Christmas with his daughters on Friday to visit relatives in Hamilton, Ontario when his SUV got stuck in Buffalo. Instead, they left their engines running for hours, swaying in the wind and almost buried in the snow.

By 4am on Saturday, fuel was almost gone, so Ilunga made the desperate choice to risk a howling storm to reach a nearby shelter. He carried his 6-year-old Destiny on his back, while 16-year-old Cindy cradled a Pomeranian puppy and followed in his footsteps during the drift.

“If I stay in the car, I will die here with my children,” recalled Ilunga. He cried as his family walked through the shelter door. “It’s something I will never forget in my life.”

Bad weather for travelers continues, and hundreds of flights have already been canceled after a bomb cyclone (when atmospheric pressure drops rapidly in a strong storm) formed near the Great Lakes, causing blizzard conditions such as high winds and snow. Cancellation is expected.

The storm caused power outages in communities from Maine to Seattle. According to poweroutage.us, he had less than 100,000 customers without power at 7 a.m. EDT Monday, down from his peak of 1.7 million.

Concerns about rolling blackouts across the eastern state subsided on Sunday after PJM Interconnection said its utility could meet the day’s peak power demand. Mid-Atlantic power grid operators called on 65 million consumers to save energy amid Saturday’s freeze.

Storm-related deaths have been reported across the country in recent days. Twelve of him, aged 26 to his 93, died in Erie County, New York, and in Niagara County, a 27-year-old man was struck by carbon monoxide. After snow blocked his furnace. In Ohio, he electrocuted 10 people, including those killed in multiple car accidents. He killed six motorists in crashes in Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky. A Vermont woman struck by a fallen branch. An apparently homeless man found in freezing temperatures in Colorado. A woman fell into the ice of the Wisconsin River.

In Jackson, Mississippi, on Christmas Day, city officials announced that residents will have to boil their drinking water after a water pipe burst in the extreme cold.

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Breiberg reported from Dallas. His AP journalist Mike Schneider from Orlando, Florida. Stephanie Dazio in Los Angeles. Jonathan Mathis of Charleston, West Virginia. Ron Todd of Philadelphia. John Lavy of Charleston, West Virginia. Mark Levy of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jeff Martin of Atlanta. Wilson Ring of Stowe, Vermont contributed to this report.