Thousands of flights cancelled, power outages as monster winter storm bears down on US
Forecasters predict dangerously cold temperatures, with snow, sleet and freezing rain threatening to cause blackouts
More than 4,000 flights were cancelled in the US on Saturday ahead of a monster winter storm that has already cut power to more than 210,000 customers as far west as Texas, and threatened to paralyse eastern states with heavy snowfall.
Forecasters said snow, sleet and freezing rain, accompanied by dangerously frigid temperatures, would sweep the eastern two-thirds of the nation on Sunday and into next week.
Calling the storms “historic”, US President Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia.
“We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm,” Trump said in a social media post.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, the Department of Homeland Security said.
“We do have tens of thousands of people in affected states in the south that have lost power. We have utility crews that are working to restore that as quick as possible,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said late on Saturday afternoon.