Historic US winter storm claims at least 50 lives as rescue efforts continue
16 hours ago
The death toll from a Buffalo-area blizzard has risen to 27 in western New York — with the toll at least 50 deaths nationwide — as the region was left reeling from one of the worst weather-related disasters in its history.Key points:
The death toll from the storm across the country is on the rise, with rescue and recovery efforts ongoing
Some people were stranded in their cars for more than two days
Scientists say the climate change crisis may have contributed to the intensity of the storm
Much of the rest of the United States has been hit by ferocious winter conditions.
Those who lost their lives around Buffalo were found in cars, homes and snow banks.
Some died while shovelling snow, others when emergency crews could not respond in time to medical crises.
The death toll from the storm across the country is on the rise, with rescue and recovery efforts ongoing Monday, local time.
The massive snowstorm blanketed the city of New York, as many streets were impassible due to abandoned vehicles. (AP: Craig Ruttle)
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz described the blizzard as "the worst storm probably in our lifetime" and warned there may be more dead yet to be discovered.
Some people, he noted, were stranded in their cars for more than two days.
"It's just a horrible situation that we can see sort of the light at the end of the tunnel. But this is not the end yet," he said.
The National Weather Service said on Monday that 23 centimetres of snow could fall in some areas on Tuesday.
Scientists said the climate change crisis might have contributed to the intensity of the storm.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz described the blizzard as "the worst storm probably in our lifetime" and warned there may be more dead yet to be discovered.
Some people, he noted, were stranded in their cars for more than two days.
"It's just a horrible situation that we can see sort of the light at the end of the tunnel. But this is not the end yet," he said.
The National Weather Service said on Monday that 23 centimetres of snow could fall in some areas on Tuesday.
Scientists said the climate change crisis might have contributed to the intensity of the storm.
Many were left to dig out cars from underneath the snow.(AP: The Buffalo News/Derek Gee)
That's because the atmosphere can carry more water vapour, which acts as fuel, according to the director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Mark Serreze.
Victor Gensini — a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University — likened a single weather event to an "at-bat" and the climate as the "batting average."
"It's hard to say," Professor Serreze said, "but are the dice a little bit loaded now? Absolutely."
The blizzard roared across western New York Friday on Saturday, stranding motorists, knocking out power and preventing emergency crews from reaching residents in frigid homes and stuck cars.
With many grocery stores in the Buffalo area closed and driving bans put in place, some people pleaded on social media for donations of food and diapers.
That's because the atmosphere can carry more water vapour, which acts as fuel, according to the director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Mark Serreze.
Victor Gensini — a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University — likened a single weather event to an "at-bat" and the climate as the "batting average."
"It's hard to say," Professor Serreze said, "but are the dice a little bit loaded now? Absolutely."
The blizzard roared across western New York Friday on Saturday, stranding motorists, knocking out power and preventing emergency crews from reaching residents in frigid homes and stuck cars.
With many grocery stores in the Buffalo area closed and driving bans put in place, some people pleaded on social media for donations of food and diapers.
Relief on the way
Relief is coming this week as forecasts call for temperatures to slowly rise.
(AP: NOAA)
The ferocity of the white-out conditions tested an area accustomed to punishing snow.
"It doesn't matter if you had 1,000 more pieces of equipment and 10,000 personnel, there's still nothing you could have done in that period. It was that bad," Mr Poloncarz said.
"I know it's hard for people to believe, but it was like looking at a white wall for 14 to 18 hours straight."
Relief is coming this week, though, as forecasts call for temperatures to slowly rise, National Weather Service meteorologist Ashton Robinson Cook said.
"[It's] nothing like what we had last week," Mr Cook said, adding that the bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — has weakened.
It developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.
Extreme weather stretched from the Great Lakes near Canada, down to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico.
About 60 per cent of the US population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians.
Deep freeze creates crisis across Deep South
The ferocity of the white-out conditions tested an area accustomed to punishing snow.
"It doesn't matter if you had 1,000 more pieces of equipment and 10,000 personnel, there's still nothing you could have done in that period. It was that bad," Mr Poloncarz said.
"I know it's hard for people to believe, but it was like looking at a white wall for 14 to 18 hours straight."
Relief is coming this week, though, as forecasts call for temperatures to slowly rise, National Weather Service meteorologist Ashton Robinson Cook said.
"[It's] nothing like what we had last week," Mr Cook said, adding that the bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — has weakened.
It developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.
Extreme weather stretched from the Great Lakes near Canada, down to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico.
About 60 per cent of the US population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians.
Deep freeze creates crisis across Deep South
This fountain froze as temperatures dropped in the country's south.
(AP: The Advocate/David Grunfeld)
Days of freezing temperatures in Deep South areas that usually freeze for only hours have threatened dozens of water systems as burst pipes leaked millions of gallons of water.
The problems were happening on Monday in large, troubled water systems such as that in Jackson, Mississippi, where residents were required over Christmas to boil water, months after most lost service because of a cascade of problems from years of poor maintenance.
Frozen pipes were also happening in Shreveport, Louisiana, where some residents had no water on Monday.
In Selma, Alabama, the mayor declared a state of emergency because the city worried it would run out of water.
Workers at a food bank in Greenville, South Carolina, opened their doors to a rush of water and were trying to save food.
Police departments around Atlanta said their 911 systems were being overwhelmed by unnecessary emergency calls about broken pipes.
The culprit was temperatures that dropped below freezing Thursday or early Friday and have spent only a few hours, if any, above 0 degrees Celsius since then.
Reuters/AP
Posted 18 hours ago
Days of freezing temperatures in Deep South areas that usually freeze for only hours have threatened dozens of water systems as burst pipes leaked millions of gallons of water.
The problems were happening on Monday in large, troubled water systems such as that in Jackson, Mississippi, where residents were required over Christmas to boil water, months after most lost service because of a cascade of problems from years of poor maintenance.
Frozen pipes were also happening in Shreveport, Louisiana, where some residents had no water on Monday.
In Selma, Alabama, the mayor declared a state of emergency because the city worried it would run out of water.
Workers at a food bank in Greenville, South Carolina, opened their doors to a rush of water and were trying to save food.
Police departments around Atlanta said their 911 systems were being overwhelmed by unnecessary emergency calls about broken pipes.
The culprit was temperatures that dropped below freezing Thursday or early Friday and have spent only a few hours, if any, above 0 degrees Celsius since then.
Reuters/AP
Posted 18 hours ago
No comments:
Post a Comment