Current:Home > BackHundreds of thousands are without power as major winter storm blasts the U.S.-InfoLens
Hundreds of thousands are without power as major winter storm blasts the U.S.
View Date:2024-12-23 10:57:02
A major, prolonged winter storm continues to bring heavy snow, blizzard conditions and significant ice from California to the Northeast this week.
Just over 873,000 households nationwide were without power as of 9:45 a.m. ET on Friday. The vast majority of those outages — more than 772,000 — are in Michigan, where residents have been hit with freezing rain and ice. That's according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages state-by-state.
"Power outages and areas of tree damage will be possible across these areas [from the Great Lakes into the Northeast], and especially for the locations seeing a combination of stronger winds and accumulating ice," the National Weather Service predicted.
Snow was falling at heavy rates of 1-2 inches per hour near the Great Lakes, and combining with 40-50 mph winds. That would have significant impacts, including major disruptions to travel, infrastructure, livestock and recreation, the NWS wrote.
Parts of the Midwest and the Northeast were expected to see 6 to 12 more inches of snow, with some areas receiving as many as 18 inches, according to the NWS.
Airports across the Midwest, including in Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit, have faced a plethora of cancellations. On Wednesday, more than 1,600 flights were canceled and an additional 5,200 were delayed. Thursday brought more of the same — more than 1,100 flights across the U.S. were canceled and almost 5,600 flights were delayed as of Thursday evening, according to FlightAware.
In the West, Portland received 10 inches of snow on the second-snowiest day ever recorded, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
The storm also has brought heavy snow to parts of California that rarely see it. Mount Baldy — which sits east of Los Angeles, at just above 4,000 feet — could get a whopping 4.5 feet of snow by Saturday.
In addition to snow in the mountains, the NWS predicted heavy rainfall in Southern California and warned of "a heightened risk of flash flooding" beginning on Friday morning and into Saturday.
Simultaneously, parts of the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley are seeing record-setting warmth: The NWS predicted temperatures as much as 40 degrees above normal on Thursday.
Atlanta was 81 degrees on Wednesday, an all-time record in February. Washington, D.C., reached 79 degrees, New Orleans reached 83 degrees and Nashville, Tenn., was 80 degrees on Wednesday.
veryGood! (75792)
Related
- Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon quit X, formerly Twitter: 'Time for me to leave'
- Tennessee legislature passes bill allowing teachers to carry concealed guns
- Video shows Florida authorities wrangling huge alligator at Air Force base
- Pitbull announces Party After Dark concert tour, T-Pain to join as special guest
- Trump announces Tom Homan, former director of immigration enforcement, will serve as ‘border czar’
- Biden’s Morehouse graduation invitation is sparking backlash, complicating election-year appearance
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Build-A-Bear
- Chicago’s ‘rat hole’ removed after city determines sidewalk with animal impression was damaged
- Guns smuggled from the US are blamed for a surge in killings on more Caribbean islands
- Teen charged in mass shooting at LGBTQ+ friendly punk rock show in Minneapolis
Ranking
- NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bobby Allison dies at 86
- Courteney Cox Reveals Johnny McDaid Once Broke Up With Her One Minute Into Therapy
- Man charged after shooting at person on North Carolina university campus, police say
- Tesla profits plunge as it grapples with slumping electric vehicle sales
- Five best fits for Alex Bregman: Will Astros homegrown star leave as free agent?
- Video shows Florida authorities wrangling huge alligator at Air Force base
- Pennsylvania redesigned its mail-in ballot envelopes amid litigation. Some voters still tripped up
- Inside Kelly Clarkson's Most Transformative Year Yet
Recommendation
-
Wisconsin authorities believe kayaker staged his disappearance and fled to Europe
-
Family of man killed when Chicago police fired 96 times during traffic stop file wrongful death suit
-
Biden tries to navigate the Israel-Hamas war protests roiling college campuses
-
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
-
Digital Finance Research Institute Introduce
-
NBA playoffs Tuesday: Timberwolves take 2-0 lead on Suns; Pacers even series with Bucks
-
Michigan student dies 'suddenly' on school trip to robotics competition in Texas
-
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman’s life