Hundreds of thousands of Americans were without power on Thursday as a fierce winter storm dropped snow and freezing rain on a wide swath of the country, prompting thousands of flight cancellations and warnings of dangerous ice accumulations across the Northeast.
The Associated Press noted most of the power outages so far were linked to icy or downed power lines in Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and Ohio, but the storm’s path threatened homes into the South and Northeast. The National Weather Service warned the Northeast that the storm was moving through the region, saying some areas in Pennsylvania and southern New England could see up to a foot of snow and others could get up to half an inch of ice.
Parts of the Midwest, including the Chicago area, have already seen nearly a foot of snow, and the Arkansas Department of Transportation warned that any precipitation was expected to freeze overnight “and heighten the potential for black ice tomorrow.”
“The freezing rain over the Mid-South will progress northeastward into the Northeast Thursday evening, where significant ice accumulation is possible from central Pennsylvania eastward into the Catskills in New York,” the National Weather Service said Thursday. “The snow/rain/freezing rain could make for difficult travel conditions along with some power outages and tree damage.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said officials were monitoring ice accumulations across the state on Thursday evening and were urging New Yorkers to take caution if going outside.
“Pay close attention to the forecast, be careful on the roads, and remember — it’s better to get there late than not at all,” she said on Twitter.
Temperatures were expected to remain below freezing through the weekend, leaving any accumulated ice on roadways and power lines, where it will remain a hazard. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Thursday the storm was “one of the most significant icing events that we’ve had in the state of Texas in at least several decades,” although officials said the event wasn’t as severe as last year’s damaging deep freeze, which left many residents without power amid frigid temperatures for more than two weeks.
The state’s energy grid appeared to be meeting demand into Thursday, a major test for Abbott and the state’s emergency response effort, The Dallas Morning News reported.
More than 6,000 scheduled flights were canceled on Thursday and Friday, and 110 million people, almost a third of the country, were under winter weather warnings or advisories. Strong winds across parts of the South prompted weather officials to warn of severe thunderstorms and the potential for tornadoes.
Alabama reported a tornado near Sawyerville on Thursday, which left at least one woman dead and several others injured.