Weather

Almost two-thirds of US plunged into sub-zero temperatures, on alert for snowstorm

Washington, Jan 18 (EFE).- Citizens in almost two-thirds of the United States woke up to sub-zero temperatures on Thursday, on alert for a second winter storm this week expected to bring heavy snowfall.

The conditions affect about 65 million Americans, from Oregon to Arkansas and from Wyoming to Maine, and authorities have reported at least 30 weather-related deaths.

The second winter storm is expected to spread snow and some ice across the Midwest, Northeast and mid-South of the country through to the end of the week, according to the Weather Channel, which named it ‘Indigo.’

The National Weather Service (NWS) said that “heavy freezing rain” is expected in portions of the Cascades with up to 60 centimeters of snow.

The agency predicted that a surge of arctic air will move toward the Mississippi Valley and that snowfall will spread from the north central plains region to the Great Lakes and the Atlantic coast.

The extreme cold over the past week, with a wind chill of -57 degrees Celsius in places, has caused spills and other incidents in North Dakota oil fields, the Bismarck Tribune reported.

In New York City the Thursday morning temperature was 3C, with a wind chill of -8C, and in Montpelier, Vermont, the thermometer plunged to -8C, with a wind chill of -13C.

In Washington DC, the federal government returned to normality Thursday, after a suspension of activities on Monday due to a holiday, on Tuesday due to weather conditions and a partial reactivation on Wednesday.

The streets of Portland, Oregon, was covered with ice and interrupted the power supply of more than 70,000 users on Wednesday evening, according to the PowerOutage.us platform.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, weather reports showed a temperature of -14C, with a wind chill of -11C and an 80 percent chance of snow.

In Detroit, Michigan, the day began with temperatures of -4C and the NWS predicted snow of up to 90cm in the region.

The NWS also issued a severe winter conditions advisory for southeastern Ohio and northwest West Virginia, with heavy snow expected from nightfall Thursday into Friday morning.

Prolonged snowfall is also forecast for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that may hinder the work of road cleaning trucks and morning traffic on Friday.

Low temperatures have caused tribulations for owners and users of electric cars, of which a record 1.2 million units were sold in the US last year.

The Recurrent platform, which specializes in batteries, said that when the mercury is below zero, the distance traveled by 18 popular models of electric cars is reduced by 30 percent. EFE jab/tw

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