Freezing temperatures, icy winds, and thick layers of ice caused traffic accidents that caused deaths, caused confusion in air traffic, while schools were closed, electricity was cut off for thousands of people, and warnings were issued to millions of Americans about bad weather conditions, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
In the state of Tennessee, health authorities in the southern state confirmed the death of 14 people due to cold weather conditions, while 5 women who were returning from Hajj in Mecca died in a traffic accident on a highway in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, according to police.
Five weather-related deaths were recorded in Kentucky, State Governor Andy Beshear announced in a statement on Friday, while three people in Oregon died from electrocution when a power cable fell on their parked car during an ice storm on Wednesday, according to the Portland Fire Department.
The storm caused a power outage for 75,000 subscribers in Oregon as of Friday evening, according to the specialized Power Outage Observatory, while the state’s governor declared a state of emergency.
Deaths were reported in the states of Illinois, Kansas, New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin, and Washington state, where 5 people are believed to have died due to the cold, according to local media, quoting officials in Seattle.
Snow storms struck several areas of the country, such as the northwest overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Rocky Mountains, and parts of New England in the northeast, especially western New York, where meteorologists said that about 1.9 meters of snow fell near Buffalo during 5 days this week.
Frosty temperatures extended to the American south, which is not accustomed to such a harsh winter.
Areas of the United States are preparing for more severe weather conditions over the weekend.
The National Weather Service said on Friday in its latest alert that “new polar winds will bring cold temperatures and dangerous winds to the Plains region and the Mississippi Valley in the eastern United States.”
Air traffic also witnessed chaos on Friday, with more than 1,100 flights canceled in the United States and more than 8,000 delayed, according to the specialized website FlightAware.
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