九游体育

Skip to main content
You have permission to edit this article.
Edit

A powerful winter storm claims at least 15 lives across the US as temperatures plunge, winds howl and power lines fall

  • Updated
  • 0
A powerful winter storm claims at least 15 lives across the US as temperatures plunge, winds howl and power lines fall

Snow-covered buildings are seen in Louisville, Kentucky, under freezing temperatures on December 23.

More than 1.7 million homes and businesses nationwide were without power on Christmas Eve morning, thanks to an Arctic blast and that tore down power lines with destructive winds and heavy snow and dipped temperatures dangerously low -- conditions killing at least 15 people.

As bone-chilling air continues to grip the US this holiday weekend, the storm still is pummeling parts of the Upper Midwest and interior Northeast with heavy snow and blizzard conditions.

In New York's Buffalo area particularly, heavy snow () and strong winds (sometimes ) at times made visibility close to zero Friday into Saturday. More than a foot more could fall Saturday, with winds and making temperatures feel well below zero.

"Don't leave your home," Mark Poloncarz, executive of Erie County, which includes Buffalo, said on CNN Saturday to anyone thinking about traveling to or within the area. "It's much safer to be inside, even if you lost your power with it only being 45 degrees inside, than going out and dealing with minus 20 wind chills and blinding conditions."

Even where it wasn't snowing and howling, temperatures and wind chills have been dangerously low across much of the country.

From the Plains and the Midwest to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and even in parts of the Southeast, wind chills after the sun rose Saturday morning were below zero, according to the National Weather Service.

That included:

鈥� Atlanta: 9 degrees; with minus 8 wind chill

鈥� Memphis: 10 degrees; with minus 4 wind chill

鈥� New York City: 8 degrees; with minus 8 wind chill

鈥� St. Louis: 9 degrees; with minus 12 wind chill

鈥� Washington, DC: 12 degrees; with minus 3 wind chill

At least 15 since Wednesday across seven states, a result of dangerous and life-threatening conditions this week over a large swath of the country:

鈥� Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Kansas Highway Patrol said Friday.

鈥� Kentucky:聽Three people have died in the state, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle accident in Montgomery County.

鈥� Missouri:聽One person died after a caravan slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said.

鈥� New York:聽Two people died Friday night in Erie County, in separate incidents, when emergency medical personnel could not get to their homes in time for medical emergencies, according to Poloncarz, the county executive.

鈥� Ohio:聽Four people have died "as a result of weather-related auto accidents," Gov. Mike DeWine said.

鈥� Tennessee:聽The Tennessee Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.

鈥� Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

'Your loved ones care more about having you alive'

For days, forecasters and officials have been sounding the alarm on the grim conditions the storm promised to bring, while imploring drivers to stay off the icy, snow-covered roads and other travelers to alter holiday plans for optimal safety.

"Remember your loved ones care more about having you alive and that next Christmas than whether you can make this one," Beshear told CNN Friday.

"People need to stay off the roads. ... Being together is more important than ever, but staying safe is even more important than that," Beshear added.

The ominous warning comes as the storm continues to bear down with blizzard conditions from the Great Lakes and , bringing the double threat of heavy snow and speedy winds.

Hundreds of drivers across multiple states, including New York, South Dakota and Minnesota, were stranded this week and needed rescuing. Some states have closed major highways to deter drivers from getting behind the wheel. Plus, more than Friday with thousands more delayed, and more than 1,700 flights have been .

To make matters worse, even if snowfall stops or slows, whiteout conditions are likely because winds are forecast to near or surpass 60 mph, resulting in damage and more power outages.

"If you do lose power, it is going to be dangerously cold," said Jackie Bray, the commissioner of New York's Homeland Security and Emergency Services, adding people should seek warming shelters provided by some counties. "Please don't assume that you can weather this cold overnight without heat. You may not be able to."

As of 9:30 a.m ET, more than 1.7 million homes and businesses in the US had no electricity service, according to , which means millions of residents likely do not have proper heating or hot water as extremely cold temperatures persist Saturday.

Here's what else you can expect this Christmas Eve:

鈥� The cold is coming for many: "The life-threatening cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded," the National Weather Service said.

鈥� Record temps in the South: Atlanta and Tallahassee, Florida, are forecast to have their coldest high temperature ever recorded on December 24, according to the weather service.

鈥� Brutal cold elsewhere: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will also see their coldest day Christmas Eve ever on Saturday. Washington, DC, could see its second-coldest on Christmas Eve, the first being in 1989. New York is set to experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. Chicago is expecting temperatures to rebound above zero but will still experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.

鈥� Flooding threats persist: Both coastal and inland flooding risks are in store for the Northeast from heavy rain falling onto a melting snowpack. Moderate to isolated major coastal flooding is possible due to strong onshore winds.

The-CNN-Wire

鈩� & 漏 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN's Britley Ritz, David J. Lopez, Amanda Watts, Tina Burnside, Ray Sanchez, Eric Levenson, Taylor Ward and Nicki Brown contributed to this report.