US storm causes widespread power outages, thousands of flights cancelled

"Heavy snow was forecast from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, while catastrophic ice accumulation threatened from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. It is a unique storm in the sense that it is so widespread, said NWS meteorologist Allison Santorelli, adding that about 213 million people were under some sort of winter weather warning. It was affecting areas all the way from New Mexico, Texas, all the way into New England, so we are talking like a 2,000-mile [3,220km] spread."

"It was affecting areas all the way from New Mexico, Texas, all the way into New England, so we are talking like a 2,000-mile [3,220km] spread. Calling the storm historic, US President Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations as nearly 20 states and the District of Columbia declared weather emergencies. We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social."

A massive winter storm is sweeping the eastern two-thirds of the United States, bringing heavy snowfall, freezing rain and plummeting temperatures that will linger for several days. The National Weather Service warned of dangerous travel and infrastructure impacts and placed roughly 213 million people under winter weather warnings. PowerOutage.us reported more than 850,000 customers without electricity as of 10:47 am EST, with major outages in Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana and impacts in Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama. Heavy snow was forecast from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, while catastrophic ice accumulation threatened the Lower Mississippi Valley through the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. More than 10,000 flights were canceled and nearly 8,000 delayed; federal emergency declarations were approved across nearly 20 states and the District of Columbia.

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