A snowstorm and strong winds continue to hit several parts of the Midwest and Pacific Northwest of the United States this Saturday, January 13, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power. Meteorological services predict that the powerful frost will affect numerous states. In the state of Iowa, Republican presidential candidates canceled some of their campaign events prior to Monday's caucus, the first of the races in the country to choose the party's candidate for the White House.
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A powerful snowstorm that has covered the US Midwest since Friday has caused freezing temperatures in several states and left hundreds of thousands of homes without power.
Governors from New York to Louisiana declared states of emergency in the face of snow and predicted temperatures. The National Weather Service office warned of unusual and “life-threatening” cold.
“A powerful winter storm, bringing heavy snow, strong winds and blizzards from the mid-Missouri Valley, Midwest to the Great Lakes on Saturday, will be followed by dangerously frigid temperatures in the Rocky Mountains and Plains through the end of week, until the early hours of the morning of next week,” indicated the Meteorological Service.
A powerful winter storm that will bring heavy snow, strong winds, and blizzard conditions from the mid-Missouri Valley, Midwest to the Great Lakes through Saturday, will be followed by dangerously-frigid temperatures across the Rockies and Plains through this weekend, into early … pic.twitter.com/zBJnmWOy90
—National Weather Service (@NWS) January 12, 2024
Meanwhile, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said this Saturday that the storms continue to cause flight cancellations and delays. Airlines delayed more than 7,600 flights across the United States on Friday, including grounded planes at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, due to blinding winds and snow.
About 150,000 homes and businesses were without power in Michigan, according to data from power outage tracker PowerOutage.US. And in Oregon and Wisconsin, more than 200,000 customers also have power outages.
Due to snowfall, strong gusts of wind and low temperatures, vehicle traffic has been affected in several parts of the state. “Travel may become impossible in rural areas,” the weather service warned.
Coldest caucus on record
Bad weather hit the campaign calendars in Iowa, where on Monday the process to choose the Republican candidate for the November presidential elections will officially begin, a primary in which former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) starts as the clear favorite.
With a blizzard warning covering most of the state, candidates Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Trump changed their schedules ahead of Monday's vote.
Wild and dangerous winter storm weather continued to wreak havoc on Saturday in Iowa just two days before the Republican caucuses kick off the official nominating process for the 2024 presidential election. The National Weather Service (NWS) in the statehttps://t.co/B5vikKz7ds
— Weather (@Mystartweather) January 13, 2024
The city of Des Moines, capital of Iowa, expects temperatures between -38 and -32 degrees Celsius during the day on Monday, the day in which participants in the Republican caucus must meet in schools and churches to cast their vote and elect their favorite candidate for the presidential elections.
It is expected to be the coldest caucus on record.
According to the weather service, these snowfalls and low temperatures are “only the first part of the story,” as the agency expects the cold front to extend into the Central Plains and Mississippi Valley over the next few days.
The first major winter storm of the year in the United States impacted the center and southeast of the country last Tuesday, with strong winds, tornadoes and snowfall that left at least three dead and power outages.
With AP, Reuters and EFE
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