US hail storm: Amid the winter storm that hit several regions of the United States on Thursday, more than 5,000 flights have been cancelled, while thousands of airlines diverted their routes to avert any emergency-like situation. The last-minute cancellation created major chaos at the airports as the families have been returning to their homes for the Christmas holidays.
According to a report by the Associated Press, more than tens of millions of people have been affected, thus exposing about 60% of the US population to some sort of winter weather advisory or warning. “We’ve just got to stay positive,” said Wendell Davis, who plays basketball with a team in France and was waiting at O’Hare in Chicago on Friday after a series of flight cancellations.
The huge storm stretched from border to border. In Canada, WestJet cancelled all flights Friday at Toronto Pearson International Airport, beginning at 9 a.m. as meteorologists in the country warned of a potential once-in-a-decade weather event. The weather service’s map “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” forecasters said.
1.4 million homes and businesses in dark
Power outages have left about 1.4 million homes and businesses in the dark, according to the website PowerOutage, which tracks utility reports. The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, ended its rolling blackouts Friday afternoon but continued to urge homes and businesses to conserve power. In Georgia, hundreds of people in Atlanta and northern parts of the state were without power and facing the possibility of sub-zero wind chills without heat.
And in Mexico, migrants waited near the U.S. border in unusually cold temperatures as they awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether and when to lift pandemic-era restrictions that prevent many from seeking asylum.
Forecasters said a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow. Multiple highways were closed and crash claimed at least six lives, officials said. At least two people died in a massive pileup involving some 50 vehicles on the Ohio Turnpike. A Kansas City, Missouri, the driver was killed Thursday after skidding into a creek, and three others died Wednesday in separate crashes on icy northern Kansas roads. Michigan also faced a deluge of crashes, including one involving nine semitrailers.
(With inputs from AP)
