already five deaths to deplore, 300,000 homes without electricity

Five people have lost their lives due to a major winter storm which has swept across the central and eastern United States since Sunday January 5, 2025, affecting millions of residents with snow starting to fall in New York.

300,000 homes without electricity in the cold

The storm, which is moving from the center of the country towards the coastal states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, has brought flight cancellations, school closures and road accidents. More than 50 million people are affected and more than 300,000 found themselves without electricityaccording to the Poweroutage.us website.

In Washington, a blanket of white covers the streets. In places, up to 30 centimeters of snow are expectedthe National Weather Service (NWS) said in its latest bulletin.

All eyes are on the snowy capital, where elected representatives of Congress must certify Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election on Monday, four years after the violent assault on the Capitol by the Republican’s supporters.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, had also urged elected officials on Sunday not to “leave town”. The session to certify Donald Trump’s victory is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. local time (6 p.m. GMT) at the Capitol, the country’s democratic temple.

Not far away, the capital’s two main airports, Dulles and Ronald Reagan, were forced tocancel more than 500 flights since 6 a.m. (11 a.m. GMT), and more than 2,000 flights across the country have been postponed, according to the Flightaware website.

Potential tornadoes to come

Weather services have warned of the amount of snow expected to fall, particularly in the state of Ohio and the Appalachian Mountains, where any travel can be “dangerous” on snowy and icy roads.

“The snow turned to ice, leading to power outages and more dangerous road conditions. Transportation safety teams are working hard to clear roads for utility crews and emergency responders to travel,” said East-Central Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, urging residents to stay at their home.

The governors of Missouri, Virginia and Maryland declared state of emergencylike Kentucky.

Videos published by the weather channel The Weather Channel shows vehicles skidding on icy roads and tractor-trailers ending up in roadside barriers in Kansas.

According to the country’s weather services, thunderstorms accompanied by hail and potential tornadoes could hit the southeastern states. These powerful winds could cause property damage and “prolonged power outages”, warned the NWS.

In the center and east of the country, temperatures are expected to drop in places up to -18°C with strong gusts of wind.

Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more severe due to human-caused climate change.

With AFP

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