奥础厂贬滨狈骋罢翱狈,听United States 鈥 A 鈥渙nce-in-a-generation鈥 winter storm was threatening on Wednesday to wreak havoc with holiday travel plans for millions of Americans.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that the storm would produce 鈥渁 multitude of weather hazards,鈥 including blizzards and life-threatening wind chill, across the northern, central, and eastern parts of the country.
Airlines told holiday travelers to brace for delays and cancellations as an Arctic cold front grips the northern Plains on Wednesday, sweeps through the Midwest, and heads towards the East Coast on Friday just before Christmas.
鈥淭his will not be your average cold front as temperatures could drop 20 or more degrees within a few hours,鈥 the NWS said, bringing 鈥渞ecord-breaking frigid temperatures鈥 to the Gulf Coast and eastern United States by Friday.
It said the Great Lakes region could expect more than a foot (30.5 centimeters) of snow.
鈥淲ind chill values could drop as low as minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 57 degrees Celsius) throughout parts of the central High Plains,鈥 the NWS said, warning that 鈥渃old of this magnitude could lead to frostbite on exposed skin within minutes.鈥
鈥淧repare now for extreme cold and ensure outdoor animals and livestock have sufficient shelter,鈥 it said.
The NWS said wind gusts of over 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour and snow will result in blizzard conditions from the northern and central Plains to the Great Lakes, creating 鈥渆xtremely dangerous travel conditions for both drivers and air travel.鈥
The storm comes as the Transportation Security Administration said it expects holiday travel volume to be close to pre-pandemic levels, with the busiest day on Thursday.
The American Automobile Association estimated that more than 112 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home between Friday and January 2, the vast majority 鈥 102 million 鈥 by car.
鈥楤omb cyclone鈥
The Federal Aviation Administration warned that high winds and heavy snow could delay flights at major air travel hubs Minneapolis-St. Paul, Chicago and聽Denver.
In Denver, for example, the temperature was expected to plummet from a high of around 50 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday to minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday.
Authorities in the Colorado capital have opened the Denver Coliseum as an emergency warming center.
AccuWeather forecasters said the storm could rapidly strengthen into what is known as a 鈥渂omb cyclone鈥 through a process known as 鈥渂ombogenesis,鈥 when the barometric pressure drops and a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass.
The NWS in Buffalo, New York called it a 鈥渙nce-in-a-generation storm鈥 with wind gusts of over 65 mph, wind chill as low as 10 to 20 degrees below zero, and scattered or possibly widespread power outages.
Forecasters in Minneapolis described it as a 鈥渉igh-end, life-threatening event鈥 that 鈥渘eeds to be taken seriously.鈥
In Fort Worth, Texas, the NWS told residents the cold snap was not expected to be as devastating as the one in February of last year, when freezing temperatures knocked out power to millions in the Lone Star State and caused dozens of deaths.
And in Washington, lawmakers were scrambling to complete work on a sweeping $1.7 trillion spending package before the massive winter storm complicates travel plans.
RELATED STORIES
Winter storm wreaks havoc on central, Northeast U.S.
Snowstorm strands motorists, grounds planes in eastern US, Canada