A fierce US winter storm slammed into the northern Plains and upper Midwest on Thursday, killing one firefighter, knocking out power for more than 900,000 people and causing thousands of flights to be canceled or delayed.
A wide area of the northern United States from Washington state to New England was under a winter weather advisory for up to 18 inches (46 cm) of snow, winds up to 50 mph (80 kph) and a wind chill of minus 40 doing. The National Weather Service said temperatures of minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius) are possible throughout the day.
A volunteer firefighter in suburban Grand Rapids, Michigan, was killed after coming in contact with a power line that had fallen from snow, local officials said on Twitter.
Nearly 900,000 homes and businesses were left without power in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York and Wisconsin on Thursday morning, according to Poweroutage.us.
According to the flight-tracking website Flightaware.com, more than 2,000 flights were canceled and another 15,000 were delayed due to inclement weather. Many roads were left impassable or treacherous for drivers.
“Traveling on roads can be dangerous with traces of snow,” said Richard Bain of the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center at the college. “But we are seeing snow accumulations of up to a quarter to half an inch (6 mm to 1.3 cm).” Are.” Park, Maryland. “It may be practically impossible.”