Chicago Feb. 23 (Una): A winter storm battered the Northern Plains and upper Midwest with high winds and heavy snow Wednesday, forcing hundreds of schools to close, delaying air travel and making road travel difficult — if not impossible — in some places. regions of the United States.
More than 50 million Americans were under winter weather warnings on Wednesday morning as the storm moved across a wide swath of the western and northern United States and into the east. The National Weather Service reported that up to 2 feet (60 cm) of snow and winds up to 60 mph (97 km) are expected in some areas during the day and into Thursday.
In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, about 17 inches (43 cm) of snow, gusts of winds up to 45 mph (72 kph) and temperatures hovering around minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 5 degrees Celsius) punish those who go about their daily lives. routine.
“It’s really cold out there, but people still want their coffee and their eggs,” said Bree Bethke, 37, a manager at MB Haskett Delicatessen, after the inclement weather swept her every time she opened a car window for a waiting customer.
“Our regulars want to come here and get out in the cold. But not today, no way. That’s too much.”
The storm also battered California and brought a mixture of snow and sleet to the east, including New England, where forecasters warned motorists to beware of slick roads.
Snow-covered roads will make travel treacherous in the Upper Midwest, and icy power lines and fallen trees could cause power outages late Wednesday through Thursday, said Frank Pereira, a forecaster with the Weather Service’s Weather Forecasting Center in College Park. . , Maryland.
Experts say the frequency and intensity of such storms, punctuated by blistering temperatures and droughts, are symptoms of climate change.
While the East Coast experienced a relatively mild winter, the Northern Plains experienced severe winters in terms of snowfall and temperatures, according to the weather service.
Among the hardest-hit cities in the Midwest was Minneapolis, where 20 inches (50 cm) of snow and 45 mph (72 km/h) winds were expected to produce white squalls.
“We are preparing for what has the potential to be one of the largest blizzards in Minnesota history,” St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said at a news conference.
Local officials declared states of emergency in Minneapolis and nearby St. Paul, and motorists were told not to get out on the roads.
The Minneapolis school system said it will hold classes remotely for more than 29,000 students for the rest of the week. Dozens of school districts have canceled classes in Dakota, Colorado and Wyoming.
The storm wreaked havoc on morning air travel. About 3,500 flights have been delayed or canceled nationwide, including 470 to and from Minneapolis, according to Flightaware.com.
It also produced a band of freezing rain that stretched from central Iowa through Chicago into southern Michigan, blanketing roads, trees and power lines with up to 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) of ice, the weather service’s Pereira said.
The storm hit California on Tuesday and was expected to last through the weekend. A rare blizzard warning has been issued for the mountains of Los Angeles County, the first warning issued by the weather service since 1989.
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