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Tag: Storms

  • EXPLAINER: Arctic blast sweeps US, causes bomb cyclone

    EXPLAINER: Arctic blast sweeps US, causes bomb cyclone

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    NEW YORK — An arctic blast has brought extreme cold, heavy snow and intense wind across much of the U.S. — just in time for the holidays.

    The weather system, dubbed a “bomb cyclone,” is disrupting travel and causing hazardous winter conditions. Where is this winter weather coming from, and what’s in store for the coming days?

    WHAT’S HAPPENING?

    A front of cold air is moving down from the Arctic, sending temperatures plunging.

    Much of the U.S. will see below-average temperatures, said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

    Temperatures may drop by more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius) in just a few hours, the National Weather Service predicts.

    Wind chill temperatures could drop to dangerous lows far below zero — enough to cause frostbite within minutes. In parts of the Plains, the wind chill could dip as low as minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 57 Celsius).

    Those in the Plains, the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes were cautioned to expect blizzard conditions as heavy winds whip up the snow, according to the National Weather Service.

    WHO WILL BE AFFECTED?

    Pretty much everyone east of the Rockies — around two-thirds of the country — will see extreme weather, said Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist in the Atlanta area.

    Though much of the West Coast will be shielded from the cold, the Arctic front is expected to pass east and south all the way through Florida.

    Heavy snowfall and intense winds could be bad news for air travel, Oravec said.

    And for those planning to hit the road for the holidays, “you’re going to have pretty serious whiteout conditions,” Maue cautioned.

    HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

    This weather system is expected to bring some major “weather whiplash,” said Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric Environmental Research.

    The cold isn’t going to stick around for long. After the dramatic plunge that will keep temperatures low for about a week, “everything will snap back to normal,” Cohen said.

    Shortly after Christmas, temperatures are expected to start to warm up again, moving from west to east. They are likely to remain near normal through the end of the year in most of the U.S.

    WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

    It all started farther north, as frigid air collected over the snow-covered ground in the Arctic, Maue said.

    Then the jet stream — wobbling air currents in the middle and upper parts of the atmosphere — began pushing this cold pool down into the U.S.

    As this arctic air is pushed into the warmer, moister air ahead of it, the system can quickly develop into serious weather — including what’s known as a “bomb cyclone,” a fast-developing storm in which atmospheric pressure falls very quickly over 24 hours.

    These severe weather events usually form over bodies of water, which have lots of warmth and moisture to feed the storm, Maue said. But with the huge amount of cold air coming through, we could see a rare bomb cyclone forming over land.

    IS THIS NORMAL?

    The storm is definitely a strong one, but “not unheard of for the winter seasons,” Oravec said.

    It’s pretty normal to have cold air build up in the winter. This week, though, shifts in the jet stream have pushed the air more to the southeast than usual, Oravec said — sweeping the freeze across the country and making storm conditions more intense.

    The U.S. probably won’t reach record-breaking lows, like those seen in the cold snap of 1983 or the polar vortex of 2014, Maue said.

    Still, “for most people alive, this will be a memorable, top-10 extreme cold event,” Maue said.

    ———

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Wild winter storm envelops US, snarling Christmas travel

    Wild winter storm envelops US, snarling Christmas travel

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    MISSION, Kan. — A wild winter storm continued to envelop much of the United States on Saturday, bringing blinding blizzards, freezing rain, flooding and life-threatening cold that created mayhem for those traveling for the Christmas holiday.

    The storm that arrived earlier in the week downed power lines, littered highways with piles of cars in deadly accidents and led to mass flight cancellations.

    The storm was nearly unprecedented in its scope, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.

    Freezing rain coated much of the Pacific Northwest in a layer of ice, while people in the Northeast faced the threat of coastal and inland flooding.

    The frigid temperatures and gusty winds were expected to produce “dangerously cold wind chills across much of the central and eastern U.S. this holiday weekend,” the weather service said, adding that the conditions “will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded.”

    “In some areas, being outdoors could lead to frostbite in minutes,” it said.

    Adding to the woes were power outages that by late Friday were still affecting more than a million homes and businesses, according to the website PowerOutage, which tracks utility reports.

    As millions of Americans were traveling ahead of Christmas, more than 5,700 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled Friday, according to the tracking site FlightAware.

    Multiple highways were closed and crashes claimed at least six lives, officials said. At least two people died in a massive pileup involving some 50 vehicles on the Ohio Turnpike. A Kansas City, Missouri, driver was killed Thursday after skidding into a creek, and three others died Wednesday in separate crashes on icy northern Kansas roads.

    In Canada, WestJet canceled all flights Friday at Toronto Pearson International Airport, as meteorologists there warned of a potential once-in-a-decade weather event. While in Mexico, migrants camped near the U.S. border in unusually cold temperatures as they awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on pandemic-era restrictions that prevent many from seeking asylum.

    Forecasters said a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.

    Even people in Florida were braced for unusually chilly weather as rare freeze warnings were issued for large parts of the state over the holiday weekend.

    Activists were rushing to get homeless people out of the cold. Nearly 170 adults and children were keeping warm early Friday in Detroit at a shelter and a warming center that are designed to hold 100 people.

    “This is a lot of extra people” but it wasn’t an option to turn anyone away, said Faith Fowler, the executive director of Cass Community Social Services, which runs both facilities.

    Emergency weather shelters in Portland, Oregon, called for volunteers amid high demand and staffing issues as snow, freezing rain, ice and frigid temperatures descended upon the area.

    South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said she was deploying the National Guard to haul timber to the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes and help with snow removal.

    “We have families that are way out there that we haven’t heard from in two weeks,” said Wayne Boyd, chief of staff to the Rosebud Sioux president.

    On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Harlie Young was huddled with five children and her father around a wood stove as 12-foot (3.6-meter) snow drifts blocked the house.

    “We’re just trying to look on the bright side that they’re still coming and they didn’t forget us,” she said Friday.

    Calling it a “kitchen sink storm,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency. In parts of New York City, tidal flooding inundated roads, homes and businesses Friday morning.

    In Boston, rain combined with a high tide, flooded some downtown streets on Friday.

    ———

    Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press journalists Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit; Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon; Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C.; and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.

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  • Wild winter storm envelops US, snarling Christmas travel

    Wild winter storm envelops US, snarling Christmas travel

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    MISSION, Kan. — A wild winter storm continued to envelop much of the United States on Saturday, bringing blinding blizzards, freezing rain, flooding and life-threatening cold that created mayhem for those traveling for the Christmas holiday.

    The storm that arrived earlier in the week downed power lines, littered highways with piles of cars in deadly accidents and led to mass flight cancellations.

    The storm was nearly unprecedented in its scope, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.

    Freezing rain coated much of the Pacific Northwest in a layer of ice, while people in the Northeast faced the threat of coastal and inland flooding.

    The frigid temperatures and gusty winds were expected to produce “dangerously cold wind chills across much of the central and eastern U.S. this holiday weekend,” the weather service said, adding that the conditions “will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded.”

    “In some areas, being outdoors could lead to frostbite in minutes,” it said.

    Adding to the woes were power outages that by late Friday were still affecting more than a million homes and businesses, according to the website PowerOutage, which tracks utility reports.

    As millions of Americans were traveling ahead of Christmas, more than 5,700 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled Friday, according to the tracking site FlightAware.

    Multiple highways were closed and crashes claimed at least six lives, officials said. At least two people died in a massive pileup involving some 50 vehicles on the Ohio Turnpike. A Kansas City, Missouri, driver was killed Thursday after skidding into a creek, and three others died Wednesday in separate crashes on icy northern Kansas roads.

    In Canada, WestJet canceled all flights Friday at Toronto Pearson International Airport, as meteorologists there warned of a potential once-in-a-decade weather event. While in Mexico, migrants camped near the U.S. border in unusually cold temperatures as they awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on pandemic-era restrictions that prevent many from seeking asylum.

    Forecasters said a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.

    Even people in Florida were braced for unusually chilly weather as rare freeze warnings were issued for large parts of the state over the holiday weekend.

    Activists were rushing to get homeless people out of the cold. Nearly 170 adults and children were keeping warm early Friday in Detroit at a shelter and a warming center that are designed to hold 100 people.

    “This is a lot of extra people” but it wasn’t an option to turn anyone away, said Faith Fowler, the executive director of Cass Community Social Services, which runs both facilities.

    Emergency weather shelters in Portland, Oregon, called for volunteers amid high demand and staffing issues as snow, freezing rain, ice and frigid temperatures descended upon the area.

    South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said she was deploying the National Guard to haul timber to the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes and help with snow removal.

    “We have families that are way out there that we haven’t heard from in two weeks,” said Wayne Boyd, chief of staff to the Rosebud Sioux president.

    On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Harlie Young was huddled with five children and her father around a wood stove as 12-foot (3.6-meter) snow drifts blocked the house.

    “We’re just trying to look on the bright side that they’re still coming and they didn’t forget us,” she said Friday.

    Calling it a “kitchen sink storm,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency. In parts of New York City, tidal flooding inundated roads, homes and businesses Friday morning.

    In Boston, rain combined with a high tide, flooded some downtown streets on Friday.

    ———

    Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press journalists Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit; Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon; Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C.; and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.

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  • Massive winter storm brings rolling blackouts, power outages

    Massive winter storm brings rolling blackouts, power outages

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    MISSION, Kan. — Tens of millions of Americans endured bone-chilling temperatures, blizzard conditions, power outages and canceled holiday gatherings Friday from a winter storm that forecasters said was nearly unprecedented in its scope, exposing about 60% of the U.S. population to some sort of winter weather advisory or warning.

    More than 200 million people were under an advisory or warning on Friday, the National Weather Service said. The weather service’s map “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” forecasters said.

    Power outages have left about 1.4 million homes and businesses in the dark, according to the website PowerOutage, which tracks utility reports. The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, ended its rolling blackouts Friday afternoon but continued to urge homes and businesses to conserve power.

    And more than 4,600 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled Friday, according to the tracking site FlightAware, causing more mayhem as travelers try to make it home for the holidays.

    “We’ve just got to stay positive,” said Wendell Davis, who plays basketball with a team in France and was waiting at O’Hare in Chicago on Friday after a series of flight cancellations.

    The huge storm stretched from border to border. In Canada, WestJet canceled all flights Friday at Toronto Pearson International Airport, beginning at 9 a.m. as meteorologists in the country warned of a potential once-in-a-decade weather event.

    And in Mexico, migrants waited near the U.S. border in unusually cold temperatures as they awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether and when to lift pandemic-era restrictions that prevent many from seeking asylum.

    Forecasters said a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.

    Multiple highways were closed and crashes claimed at least five lives, officials said. At least one person died in a massive pileup involving at least 50 vehicles on the Ohio Turnpike. A Kansas City, Missouri, driver was killed after skidding into a creek, and three others died Wednesday in separate crashes on icy northern Kansas roads.

    Michigan also faced a deluge of crashes, including one involving nine semitrailers.

    Brent Whitehead said it took him 7.5 hours —— instead of the usual six —— to drive from his home near Minneapolis to his parents’ home outside Chicago on Thursday as the wind froze his wipers and he struggled to control his car on the ice.

    “Thank goodness I had my car equipped with snow tires,” he said.

    Activists also were rushing to get homeless people out of the cold. Nearly 170 adults and children were keeping warm early Friday in Detroit at a shelter and a warming center that are designed to hold 100 people.

    “This is a lot of extra people” but it wasn’t an option to turn anyone away, said Faith Fowler, the executive director of Cass Community Social Services, which runs both facilities.

    In Chicago, Andy Robledo planned to spend the day organizing efforts to check on people without housing through his nonprofit, Feeding People Through Plants. Robledo and volunteers build tents modeled on ice-fishing tents, including a plywood subfloor.

    “It’s not a house, it’s not an apartment, it’s not a hotel room. But it’s a huge step up from what they had before,” Robledo said.

    In Portland, Oregon, nearly 800 people slept at five emergency shelters on Thursday night, as homeless outreach teams fanned out to distributed cold-weather survival gear.

    DoorDash and Uber Eats suspended delivery service in some states, and bus service was disrupted in places like Seattle.

    The power ceased at Jaime Sheehan’s Maryland bakery for about 90 minutes Friday, shutting off the convection oven and stilling the mixer she needed to make butter cream.

    “Thankfully, all of the orders that were going out today already finished yesterday,” she said a few moments before the power returned.

    At about the same time, Corey Newcomb and his family were entering their sixth hour without power at their home in Phenix, Virginia, a small town about 93 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Richmond.

    “We are coping and that’s about it,” Newcomb said in a Facebook message, adding that he needs to run a generator because he has family with health problems.

    South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said she was deploying the National Guard to haul timber to the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes and help with snow removal.

    “We have families that are way out there that we haven’t heard from in two weeks,” Wayne Boyd, chief of staff to the Rosebud Sioux president, said.

    Fearing that some are running out of food, the tribe was hoping to get a helicopter on Saturday to check on the stranded. The tribe also was looking into reports of deaths. During last week’s storm, a 12-year-old died after medical responders couldn’t reach the home, Boyd said.

    The Oglala Sioux Tribe, meanwhile, was using snowmobiles to reach members who live at the end of miles-long dirt roads.

    “It’s been one heck of a fight so far,” said tribal President Frank Star Comes Out.

    The weather service is forecasting the coldest Christmas in more than two decades in Philadelphia, where school officials shifted classes online Friday.

    Atop New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the tallest peak in the Northeast, the wind topped 150 mph (241 kph).

    In Boston, rain combined with a high tide, sent waves over the seawall at Long Wharf and flooded some downtown streets. It was so bad in Vermont that Amtrak canceled service for the day, and nonessential state offices were closing early.

    “I’m hearing from crews who are seeing grown trees ripped out by the roots,” Mari McClure, president of Green Mountain Power, the state’s largest utility, said at a news conference.

    Calling it a “kitchen sink storm,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency. In parts of New York City, tidal flooding inundated roads, homes and businesses Friday morning.

    In Iowa, sports broadcaster Mark Woodley became a Twitter sensation after he was called on to do live broadcasts outdoors in the wind and snow because sporting events were called off. By midday Friday, a compilation of his broadcasts had been viewed nearly 5 million times on Twitter.

    “I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news,” he told an anchor. “The good news is that I can still feel my face right now. The bad news is, I kind of wish I couldn’t.”

    ———

    Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press journalists Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit; Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon; Zeke Miller in Washington; and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.

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  • Winter weather live updates | Travel chaos, bitter cold

    Winter weather live updates | Travel chaos, bitter cold

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    TORONTO — Meteorologists in Canada are warning of a potential once-in-a-decade weather event as a winter storm causes widespread school closures, power outages and flight cancellations.

    Environment Canada is predicting strong winds, heavy snowfall and possible flash freezing and has issued winter storm warnings for the vast majority of Ontario and Quebec.

    “We may only see one of these storms every five or 10 years,” says Environment Canada meteorologist Mitch Meredith. “I’ve only seen a couple of storms like this in the last 20 years.”

    Environment Canada said flash, or sudden, freezes are likely as rain turned to heavy snow on Friday in parts of southern Ontario, creating dangerous driving conditions.

    The storm upended holiday travel plans for thousands of people as airlines preemptively canceled flights, with more disruptions expected.

    ———

    KEY DEVELOPMENTS

    — Ontario, Quebec pummeled by winter storm

    — Ho, ho, snow: NORAD’s Santa tracker ready to roll despite winter storm

    — Falling iguana alert! Even sunny Florida could see freezing temps this weekend

    — Huge storm intensifies into a “ bomb cyclone ”

    — As temperatures plummet, migrants wait along the U.S.-Mexico border for a possible change to asylum rules

    — Air Force tops Baylor in frigid Armed Forces Bowl

    ———

    OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

    ———

    JACKSON, Miss. — In Jackson, Mississippi, the city’s beleaguered water system has so far been able to withstand blistering temperature drops, city officials said Friday. The mayor had expressed concerns that the system — which has led to numerous water shortages in recent years — remained vulnerable to subfreezing temperatures.

    The city’s main water plants “held up to the temperature drops overnight,” city spokeswoman Melissa Faith Payne told WLBT-TV. There have been some water main breaks and some residents have experienced lower water pressure, but crews were making repairs, she said.

    ———

    NEW YORK — Calling it a “kitchen sink storm,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Friday as wintry weather heads into the state.

    “It is throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink. We’ve had ice, flooding, snow, freezing temperatures, and everything that Mother Nature could wallop at us this weekend,” Hochul said during a press briefing.

    In some parts of the state, precipitation is coming down in rain, which is then turning into ice as temperatures quickly dip. Other parts of the state are at risk of flooding, Hochul said.

    “The rain comes down and there’s barely enough time between the rain and the icing for our snowplows and crews to be able to salt the roads,” the governor said.

    “This is a life threatening event,” Hochul said.

    ———

    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Rest assured, kids. A bomb cyclone is no match for the big man in red.

    The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, is the U.S. military agency responsible for monitoring and defending the skies above North America.

    The agency also runs the NORAD Tracks Santa service, which allows people to follow his Christmas journey through its noradsanta.org website, social media channels and mobile app.

    The agency this year plans to have about 1,500 volunteers working on Christmas Eve to field phone calls from children who want to know Santa’s location and delivery schedule. The frightful weather isn’t expected to affect Santa’s schedule.

    “I think Santa will be right at home with the Arctic weather that’s hitting into the lower 48,” says Lt. General David Nahom, a NORAD official based in Anchorage, Alaska.

    ———

    COLLEGE PARK, Md. — This week’s massive storm with its blizzard conditions and Arctic air may set some temperature and wind gust records, but it isn’t unprecedented.

    That’s according to Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations for the Weather Prediction Center at the National Weather Service. But the storm hitting just before the Christmas holiday when so many Americans are traveling, however, will make it especially disruptive.

    “The impacts are perhaps far greater than they might be in the middle of winter during a typical weekend without a holiday,” said Carbin. “It is a notable storm.”

    The initial shock of cold temperatures is like the fatal February 2021 winter storm where frigid air descended into Texas. But the cold during that storm lingered, knocking out power for millions in Texas. Many died from hypothermia. This storm isn’t expected to last as long.

    “Give it a day or two” and temperatures will start to rebound, Carbin said.

    ———

    WATERLOO, Iowa — Even though the sporting events were canceled, eastern Iowa sports broadcaster Mark Woodley didn’t get the day off.

    “I normally do sports,” Woodley says on-air for Waterloo TV station KWWL. “Everything is canceled here for the next couple of days so what better time to ask the sports guy to come in about five hours earlier than he would normally wake up and go stand out in the wind and the snow and the cold and tell other people not to do the same?”

    By midday Friday, a compilation of his TV stand-ups had been viewed nearly 5 million times on Twitter.

    He later says to a news anchor: “I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is that I can still feel my face right now. The bad news is, I kind of wish I couldn’t.”

    It may be awhile before Woodley returns to sports. Waterloo, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Des Moines, remains under a blizzard warning until 6 a.m. Saturday.

    ———

    Power outages are piling up across the United States from a winter storm that is bringing heavy snow and powerful winds to much of the country.

    More than 1.4 million homes and businesses were without electricity Friday morning. That’s according to the website PowerOutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

    Most of the outages are in the Eastern U.S., where gusty winds have knocked down trees and power lines.

    In Vermont, residents were told to plan for a “multi-day event” for full power restoration and cleanup.

    “I’m hearing from crews who are seeing grown trees ripped out by the roots,” Mari McClure, president of Green Mountain Power, the state’s largest utility, said at a news conference.

    In Maine, gusts approaching 70 mph (113 kph) were reported along the coast Friday morning. Atop New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the tallest peak in the Northeast, the wind topped 130 mph (210 kph).

    Hundreds of utility and tree crews were deployed in New England, but the high winds hampered them. The limit for using bucket trucks is typically 25 mph (40 kph) to 35 mph (56 kph), a utility official said.

    ———

    SEATTLE – All bus service was suspended in the greater Seattle area Friday morning due to an ice storm that made travel treacherous and Sea-Tac International Airport closed two out of three runways.

    King County Metro said buses were unable to leave bases due to “deteriorating and unsafe road conditions.” The agency said it hoped it would be able to run buses later Friday. In Pierce, Kitsap and Snohomish counties, authorities also halted bus service.

    The Pacific Northwest has shivered under extreme cold for several days. Forecasters said the freezing rain, which is affecting western Washington and Oregon, is happening as temperatures start to rise and a storm moves through. The warm up will be quick, with forecasters saying temperatures could reach the 50s in Seattle by Christmas.

    ———

    COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The huge winter storm pummeling parts of the United States and Canada has intensified into a bomb cyclone. That’s according to the National Weather Service, which says the atmospheric pressure of the storm has dropped rapidly enough over the past 24 hours to classify the system that way.

    John Moore, a spokesman and meteorologist with the National Weather Service, says the central pressure of the system has fallen rapidly and is expected to continue dropping over the next few hours.

    Blizzard warnings are in effect in the Great Lakes area, where snowfall is expected to combine with powerful winds to create whiteout conditions.

    ———

    COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Extreme cold, powerful wind and blowing snow are wreaking havoc on holiday travelers.

    The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center calls it a “historic winter storm.” If you’re in the U.S., there’s a good chance winter weather of some sort is in your forecast. The weather service says its map “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever.”

    By the numbers:

    — 181 million people are under wind chill warnings or advisories.

    — More than 11 million people are under blizzard warnings.

    — 58 million people face winter storm warnings.

    — And more than 500,000 people are under ice storm warnings.

    ———

    NEW YORK — What is a “bomb cyclone” anyway?

    The name comes from the meteorological term bombogenesis, which occurs when a fast-developing storm rapidly intensifies, causing atmospheric pressure to quickly drop in a 24-hour period. Bombogenesis creates a bomb cyclone.

    It all started farther north, as frigid air collected over the snow-covered ground in the Arctic, said Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist in the Atlanta area.

    Then the jet stream — wobbling air currents in the middle and upper parts of the atmosphere — began pushing this cold pool down into the U.S.

    As this arctic air is pushed into the warmer, moister air ahead of it, the system can quickly develop into serious weather, including a bomb cyclone.

    ———

    CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — A group of Venezuelan migrants sought refuge from the cold under blankets beside a bonfire in a dirt alleyway beside a crumbling cinderblock wall in this city across the border from El Paso.

    “We’re from the coast (of Venezuela) with lot of sun and the cold affects us,” said 22-year-old Rafael Gonzalez and a native of La Guaira on the Caribbean coast. “The shelter here is very full. … And that means it’s our turn to be here, having a little bonfire.”

    He and others said they are eager to learn whether the U.S. will lift restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the border.

    Nearby, migrants from Venezuela and Central America sought refuge from the cold in a three-room shelter without beds, lying shoulder-to-shoulder among blankets on a concrete floor.

    The shelter has been forged gradually with repairs to an abandoned building in recent weeks. The project is the work of pastor Elias Rodriguez of the Casa Nueva Voz ministry, who grew concerned about the emergence of a small “tent city” along the Rio Grande without even a water faucet.

    “Outside there are people making fires, people waiting by the door because we only have 135 spaces,” Rodriguez said.

    “It’s been so cold that people, when I step outside, they say, ‘Please let me in even if there’s standing room only, I don’t even have to find a place on the floor to sleep as long as you just allow me to come in.’”

    ———

    FORT WORTH, Texas — “Cold might be putting it mildly,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said after the Falcons beat Baylor 30-15 on Thursday night.

    “I don’t think I’ve experienced anything like that,” he said. “When it’s not warm, it’s not easy. It never is at the United States Air Force Academy. But these guys, just the heart, the guts and the right, extraordinary young people. I’m glad they’re fighting for our country.”

    Baylor officials announced it was the coldest kickoff temperature in the history of the program based about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Dallas-Fort Worth in Waco.

    ———

    Follow AP coverage of weather at: https://apnews.com/hub/weather

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  • Winter storm cancels flights, closes schools in Canada

    Winter storm cancels flights, closes schools in Canada

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    TORONTO — A major winter storm hitting Ontario and Quebec on Friday caused widespread flight cancellations and school closures, and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers on Friday, with an Environment Canada meteorologist warning of a possible once-in-a-decade weather event.

    Environment Canada predicted strong winds, heavy snowfall and possible flash freezing, issuing winter storm warnings for the vast majority of Ontario and Quebec.

    “We may only see one of these storms every five or 10 years,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Mitch Meredith. “I’ve only seen a couple of storms like this in the last 20 years.”

    Environment Canada said flash, or sudden, freezes were likely as rain turned to heavy snow on Friday in parts of southern Ontario, creating dangerous driving conditions.

    Ontario Provincial Police shut down Highway 401 west of London on Friday morning after reporting multiple collisions. Meanwhile, strong winds began to wreak havoc on provincial utilities. Hydro Quebec said outages were affecting more than 225,000 customers.

    Hydro One, Ontario’s largest electricity utility, said roughly 45,000 customers were without power as of 11 a.m. Hydro Ottawa said 25,000 customers were without power, mainly due to branches downing wires. In Quebec, many regions were expected to receive a mix of heavy snow, rain and strong winds.

    The storm upended holiday travel plans for thousands of people as airlines preemptively canceled flights, with more disruptions expected.

    WestJet, Canada’s second largest airline, announced late Thursday that it was canceling flights at airports in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. It announced 300 “proactive” flight cancellations on Friday for B.C., southern Ontario and Quebec due to the bad weather. That brought the airline’s total cancellations since Monday to 1,196, according to an emailed statement.

    Air Canada said Friday that it had canceled “a number of flights” in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, including all of its flights out of Toronto’s downtown island airport, citing the storm, reduced airport capacity and operational constraints.

    Rob Milton, who was travelling with his wife, said their flight to Quebec was canceled Friday morning out of Toronto’s Pearson airport, throwing a major wrench in the couple’s plans to celebrate Christmas in Quebec City. “We had a hotel in Quebec booked; we had to cancel it. We had restaurants; we had to cancel those. We had the whole weekend planned,” he said at the airport.

    Daniel Araya, who was traveling with his family from Chile to Vancouver, was stuck at Pearson after his fight was delayed due to the weather.

    “We really are hoping for a Christmas miracle,” he said. “We spent a lot of time to get here and it will be really sad if we can’t make it to Vancouver to see my sister.”

    The Toronto Transit Commission took out of service 41 bus stops in hilly areas that are difficult to navigate in snowy and icy conditions. GO Transit, which serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, canceled express trains and reduced train service during peak times.

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  • Winter weather live updates | Travel chaos, bitter cold

    Winter weather live updates | Travel chaos, bitter cold

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    COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The huge winter storm pummeling parts of the United States and Canada has intensified into a bomb cyclone. That’s according to the National Weather Service, which says the atmospheric pressure of the storm has dropped rapidly enough over the past 24 hours to classify the system that way.

    John Moore, a spokesman and meteorologist with the National Weather Service, says the central pressure of the system has fallen rapidly and is expected to continue dropping over the next few hours.

    Blizzard warnings are in effect in the Great Lakes area, where snowfall is expected to combine with powerful winds to create whiteout conditions.

    ———

    KEY DEVELOPMENTS

    — Huge storm could intensify into a “ bomb cyclone ”

    — As temperatures plummet, migrants wait along the U.S.-Mexico border for a possible change to asylum rules

    — Air Force tops Baylor in frigid Armed Forces Bowl

    ———

    OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

    COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Extreme cold, powerful wind and blowing snow are wreaking havoc on holiday travelers.

    The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center calls it a “historic winter storm.” If you’re in the U.S., there’s a good chance winter weather of some sort is in your forecast. The weather service says its map “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever.”

    By the numbers:

    — 181 million people are under wind chill warnings or advisories.

    — More than 11 million people are under blizzard warnings.

    — 58 million people face winter storm warnings.

    — And more than 500,000 people are under ice storm warnings.

    ———

    NEW YORK — What is a “bomb cyclone” anyway?

    The name comes from the meteorological term bombogenesis, which occurs when a fast-developing storm rapidly intensifies, causing atmospheric pressure to quickly drop in a 24-hour period. Bombogenesis creates a bomb cyclone.

    It all started farther north, as frigid air collected over the snow-covered ground in the Arctic, said Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist in the Atlanta area.

    Then the jet stream — wobbling air currents in the middle and upper parts of the atmosphere — began pushing this cold pool down into the U.S.

    As this arctic air is pushed into the warmer, moister air ahead of it, the system can quickly develop into serious weather, including a bomb cyclone.

    ———

    CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — A group of Venezuelan migrants sought refuge from the cold under blankets beside a bonfire in a dirt alleyway beside a crumbling cinderblock wall in this city across the border from El Paso.

    “We’re from the coast (of Venezuela) with lot of sun and the cold affects us,” said 22-year-old Rafael Gonzalez and a native of La Guaira on the Caribbean coast. “The shelter here is very full. … And that means it’s our turn to be here, having a little bonfire.”

    He and others said they are eager to learn whether the U.S. will lift restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the border.

    Nearby, migrants from Venezuela and Central America sought refuge from the cold in a three-room shelter without beds, lying shoulder-to-shoulder among blankets on a concrete floor.

    The shelter has been forged gradually with repairs to an abandoned building in recent weeks. The project is the work of pastor Elias Rodriguez of the Casa Nueva Voz ministry, who grew concerned about the emergence of a small “tent city” along the Rio Grande without even a water faucet.

    “Outside there are people making fires, people waiting by the door because we only have 135 spaces,” Rodriguez said.

    “It’s been so cold that people, when I step outside, they say, ‘Please let me in even if there’s standing room only, I don’t even have to find a place on the floor to sleep as long as you just allow me to come in.’”

    ———

    FORT WORTH, Texas — “Cold might be putting it mildly,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said after the Falcons beat Baylor 30-15 on Thursday night.

    “I don’t think I’ve experienced anything like that,” he said. “When it’s not warm, it’s not easy. It never is at the United States Air Force Academy. But these guys, just the heart, the guts and the right, extraordinary young people. I’m glad they’re fighting for our country.”

    Baylor officials announced it was the coldest kickoff temperature in the history of the program based about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Dallas-Fort Worth in Waco.

    ———

    Follow AP coverage of weather at: https://apnews.com/hub/weather

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  • Holiday travel upended as forecasters warn of ‘bomb cyclone’

    Holiday travel upended as forecasters warn of ‘bomb cyclone’

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    MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Thousands of flights were canceled and homeless shelters were overflowing Thursday amid one of the most treacherous holiday travel seasons the U.S. has seen in decades, with temperatures plummeting 50 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas and forecasters warning of an impending “bomb cyclone” that could make conditions even worse before Christmas.

    The frigid air was moving through the central United States to the east, with windchill advisories affecting about 135 million people over the coming days, weather service meteorologist Ashton Robinson Cook said Thursday. Places like Des Moines, Iowa, will feel like minus 37 degrees, making it possible to suffer frostbite in less than five minutes.

    “This is not like a snow day when you were a kid,” President Joe Biden warned Thursday in the Oval Office after a briefing from federal officials. “This is serious stuff.”

    Forecasters are expecting a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — to develop late Thursday and into Friday near the Great Lakes. That will stir up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow, Cook said.

    In South Dakota, Rosebud Sioux Tribe emergency manager Robert Oliver said tribal authorities have been working to clear roads to deliver propane and fire wood to homes, but face a relentless wind that has created drifts over 10 feet in some places.

    “This weather and the amount of equipment we have — we don’t have enough,” Oliver said, noting that rescues of people stranded in their homes had to be halted early Thursday when the hydraulic fluid in heavy equipment froze amid a 41 below zero windchill.

    He said five have died in recent storms, including a blizzard from last week.

    In Texas, temperatures were expected to quickly plummet Thursday, but state leaders promised there wouldn’t be a repeat of the February 2021 storm that overwhelmed the state’s power grid and was blamed for hundreds of deaths.

    The cold weather extended to El Paso and across the border into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where migrants have been camping outside or filling shelters as they await a decision on whether the U.S. will lift restrictions that have prevented many from seeking asylum.

    Elsewhere in the U.S., authorities worried about the potential for power failures and warned people to take precautions to protect older and homeless people and livestock — and, if possible, to postpone travel. Some utilities were urging customers to turn down their thermostats to conserve energy.

    “This event could be life-threatening if you are stranded,” according to an online post by the National Weather Service in Minnesota, where officials reported dozens of crashes.

    In Kansas City, Missouri, one person died after a vehicle overturned into an icy creek, police said.

    Michigan State Police prepared to deploy additional troopers to help motorists. And along a toll road on Interstate 90 in northern Indiana, crews were braced to clear as much as a foot of snow as meteorologists warned of blizzard conditions there starting Thursday evening.

    “If you’re looking to get to someone’s house for the holidays and you haven’t left by now it could get dicey soon,” said Rick Fedder, the chief operating officer of ITR Concession Co., the toll road’s private operator.

    The School District of Philadelphia, the largest in Pennsylvania, announced that Friday’s final classes of the calendar year would be held online rather than in-person as scheduled. In Allegheny County in the western part of the state, public works spokesman Brent Wasko said officials would deploy 33 salt trucks but that pretreating the roads wasn’t an option because expected rainfall Thursday night and Friday morning would wash the salt away.

    More than 2,156 flights within, into or out of the U.S. had been canceled as of Thursday afternoon, according to the tracking site FlightAware. Airlines have also canceled 1,576 Friday flights. Airports in Chicago and Denver were reporting the most cancelations.

    Among those with canceled flights was Ashley Sherrod, who planned to fly from Nashville to Flint, Michigan, on Thursday afternoon. Sherrod is now debating whether to drive or risk booking a Saturday flight she worries will be canceled.

    “My family is calling, they want me home for Christmas, but they want me to be safe too,” said Sherrod, whose bag — including the Grinch pajamas she was planning to wear to a family party — is packed and ready by the door. “Christmas is starting to, for lack of a better word, suck.”

    Amtrak, meanwhile, canceled service on more than 20 routes, primarily in the Midwest.

    Some shelters in the Detroit area already were at capacity but still making room.

    “We are not sending anyone back into this cold,” Aisha Morrell-Ferguson, a spokeswoman for COTS, a family-only shelter, told the Detroit News.

    And in Portland, Oregon, officials opened four emergency shelters. In the city’s downtown, Steven Venus tried to get on a light-rail train to get out of the cold after huddling on the sidewalk overnight in below-zero temperatures.

    “My toes were freezing off,” he said, a sleeping bag wrapped around his head, as he paused near a flimsy tent where another homeless person was taking shelter.

    Courtney Dodds, a spokeswoman for the Union Gospel Mission, said teams from her organization had been going out to try to convince people to seek shelter.

    “It can be really easy for people to doze off and fall asleep and wind up losing their lives because of the cold weather.”

    In Montana, temperatures fell as low as 50 below zero (minus 46 Celsius) at Elk Park, a mountain pass on the Continental Divide. Schools and several ski areas closed, and several thousand people lost power.

    Near Big Sandy, Montana, rancher Rich Roth said he wasn’t too concerned about his 3,500 pregnant cows weathering the cold snap, saying “they’re pretty dang resilient animals.”

    In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine warned of a “unique and dangerous” situation of flash freezing Thursday night statewide. He also urged people to check on their neighbors and loved ones.

    In famously snowy Buffalo, New York, forecasters predicted a “once-in-a-generation storm” because of heavy lake-effect snow, wind gusts as high as 65 mph (105 kph), whiteouts and the potential for extensive power outages. Mayor Byron Brown urged people to stay home, and the NHL postponed the Buffalo Sabres’ home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Denver, also no stranger to winter storms, was the coldest it has been in 32 years on Thursday, when the temperature dropped to minus 24 (minus 31 Celsius) in the morning at the airport.

    In Charleston, South Carolina, a coastal flood warning was in effect Thursday. The area, a popular tourist destination for its mild winters, braced for strong winds and freezing temperatures.

    The wintry weather extended into Canada, causing delays and cancellations earlier in the week at Vancouver International Airport. A major winter storm was expected Friday into Saturday in Toronto, where wind gusts as high as 60 mph (100 kph) were predicted to cause blowing snow and limited visibility, Environment Canada said.

    ___

    Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit, Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon, Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Rick Callahan in Indianapolis, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia, and Jackie Quinn and Zeke Miller in Washington.

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  • Temperatures fall far and fast as winter storm threatens US

    Temperatures fall far and fast as winter storm threatens US

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    MISSION, Kan. — Temperatures plunged far and fast Thursday as a winter storm began forming ahead of Christmas weekend, promising heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds across a broad swath of the country and complicating holiday travel.

    The National Weather Service reported that temperatures across the central High Plains plummeted 50 degrees Fahrenheit in just a few hours. In much of the country, the Christmas weekend could be the coldest in decades.

    The frigid air will move through the central United States to the east, with windchill advisories affecting about 135 million people over the coming days, weather service meteorologist Ashton Robinson Cook said Thursday.

    Forecasters are expecting a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — to develop near the Great Lakes, which will increase winds and create blizzard conditions, Cook said.

    In Texas, temperatures were expected to quickly plummet Thursday, but state leaders promised there wouldn’t be a repeat of the February 2021 storm that overwhelmed the state’s power grid and was blamed for hundreds of deaths.

    Gov. Greg Abbott, in a news conference Wednesday, was confident the state could handle the increased demand for energy as the temperatures dropped.

    “I think trust will be earned over the next few days as people see that we have ultra-cold temperatures and the grid is going to be able to perform with ease,” he said.

    The cold weather extended to El Paso and across the border into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where migrants have been camping outside or filling shelters as they await a decision on whether the U.S. will lift restrictions that have prevented many from seeking asylum.

    Elsewhere in the U.S., authorities worried about the potential for power failures and warned people to take precautions to protect older and homeless people and livestock — and, if possible, to postpone travel. More than 1,400 flights had been canceled Thursday morning within, in or out of the U.S., according to the tracking site FlightAware.

    As the winter storm approached, some shelters in the Detroit area already were at capacity. The Detroit News reported that the 140 beds at COTS, a family-only shelter in Detroit, were full. The facility is hoping to make room for others, though, spokesperson Aisha Morrell-Ferguson told the newspaper Wednesday.

    “We are not sending anyone back into this cold,” Morrell-Ferguson said. “It does not matter if we have to pull out air mattresses. We are doing everything we can, looking at alternative spaces to support the needs that may arise.”

    Air, bus and train travelers braced for cancellations and delays.

    In Montana, several ski areas announced closures Wednesday and Thursday because of the extreme cold and sustained winds. Others scaled back offerings. Schools were also closed due to the cold.

    In famously snowy Buffalo, New York, forecasters predicted a “once-in-a-generation storm” because of heavy lake-effect snow, wind gusts as high as 65 mph (105 kph), whiteouts and the potential for extensive power outages. The NHL postponed the Buffalo Sabres’ home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and rescheduled it for March 4.

    The wintry weather extended into Canada, causing delays and cancellations earlier in the week at Vancouver International Airport. A major winter storm was expected Friday into Saturday in Toronto, where wind gusts as high as 60 mph (100 kph) were predicted to cause blowing snow and limited visibility, Environment Canada said.

    ———

    Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press journalist Jackie Quinn in Washington contributed to this report.

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  • A ‘Bomb Cyclone’ Threatens to Make Holiday Travel a Nightmare

    A ‘Bomb Cyclone’ Threatens to Make Holiday Travel a Nightmare

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    Santa Claus might want to sit this Christmas out.

    Meteorologists are warning that a massive winter blizzard will hit a large portion of the U.S. in the next few days. Described as a “bomb cyclone,” the storm will bring heavy snowfall and bone-chilling temperatures, disrupting travel plans for millions of Americans.

    The terrible weather couldn’t have arrived at a worse time.

    According to the Automobile Association of America, 112.7 million people will journey 50 miles or more away from home from December 23 to January 2 this season, an increase of 3.6 million people from last year.

    But as of Wednesday night, 200 million people were under extreme weather alerts as the storm moved eastward toward the Plains, Midwest, and Great Lakes. The storm will also bring strong winds and a possible flash freeze to parts of the Midwest, East, and South.

    Winter Storm Warnings have been issued all the way from Denver to Buffalo.

    Already, more than 484 U.S. flights scheduled between Wednesday and Friday have been canceled, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware.

    Related: The Rise in Natural Disasters Is Putting More Businesses at Risk. Are You Protected?

    What is a bomb cyclone?

    A bomb cyclone happens when atmospheric pressure at the center of a storm drops rapidly to about 1 [millibar]every hour for 24 hours, causing freezing temperatures, heavy winds, and heavy snow.

    “It’s called a bomb cyclone because a low pressure (or cyclone) undergoes ‘bombogenesis,’ which refers to the quick rate at which the low pressure develops,” Mike Bettes, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, told CBS News.

    The combination of life-threatening temperatures and strong winds also leads to dangerous wind chills.

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  • EXPLAINER: Arctic blast sweeps US, bomb cyclone possible

    EXPLAINER: Arctic blast sweeps US, bomb cyclone possible

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    NEW YORK — An arctic blast is bringing extreme cold, heavy snow and intense wind across much of the U.S. this week — just in time for the holidays.

    The weather system, which may build into a “bomb cyclone,” is expected to move east in the days leading up to Christmas, disrupting travel and causing hazardous winter conditions. Where is this winter weather coming from, and what’s in store for the coming days?

    WHAT’S HAPPENING?

    A front of cold air is moving down from the Arctic, sending temperatures plunging.

    Much of the U.S. will see below-average temperatures through the middle and end of the week, said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

    Temperatures may drop by more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius) in just a few hours, the National Weather Service predicts.

    And with winds also expected to pick up, wind chill temperatures could drop to dangerous lows far below zero — enough to cause frostbite within minutes. In parts of the Plains, the wind chill could dip as low as minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 57 Celsius).

    On top of the frigid cold, the weather system is expected to send a snowstorm through the Midwest near the end of the week.

    Those in the Plains, the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes should expect blizzard conditions as heavy winds whip up the snow, according to the National Weather Service.

    WHO WILL BE AFFECTED?

    Pretty much everyone east of the Rockies — around two-thirds of the country — will see extreme weather in the coming days, said Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist in the Atlanta area.

    Though much of the West Coast will be shielded from the cold, the Arctic front is expected to pass east and south all the way through Florida.

    As for the snow, those in the Midwest will probably see a “heck of a storm,” though blizzard conditions aren’t expected to hit the East Coast, Maue said. Some spots around the Great Lakes may see upwards of a foot of snow by Friday, the National Weather Service predicted.

    Heavy snowfall and intense winds could be bad news for travel, Oravec said. Airports in the Midwest, including the travel hub of Chicago, will likely face shutdowns as the blizzard comes through later in the week.

    And for those planning to hit the road for the holidays, “you’re going to have pretty serious whiteout conditions,” Maue cautioned.

    HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

    This weather system is expected to bring some major “weather whiplash,” said Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric Environmental Research.

    The cold isn’t going to stick around for long. After the dramatic plunge that will keep temperatures low for about a week, “everything will snap back to normal,” Cohen said.

    Shortly after Christmas, temperatures will start to warm up again, moving from west to east. They are likely to remain near normal through the end of the year in most of the U.S.

    WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

    It all started farther north, as frigid air collected over the snow-covered ground in the Arctic, Maue said.

    Then the jet stream — wobbling air currents in the middle and upper parts of the atmosphere — began pushing this cold pool down into the U.S.

    As this arctic air is pushed into the warmer, moister air ahead of it, the system can quickly develop into serious weather — including what’s known as a “bomb cyclone,” a fast-developing storm in which atmospheric pressure falls very quickly over 24 hours.

    These severe weather events usually form over bodies of water, which have lots of warmth and moisture to feed the storm, Maue said. But with the huge amount of cold air coming through, we could see a rare bomb cyclone forming over land.

    Whether this storm technically qualifies as a bomb cyclone depends on how quickly the pressure drops — but either way, the snowfall plus high winds will make for an intense bout of winter weather.

    IS THIS NORMAL?

    The storm is definitely a strong one, but “not unheard of for the winter seasons,” Oravec said.

    It’s pretty normal to have cold air build up in the winter. This week, though, shifts in the jet stream are pushing the air more to the southeast than usual, Oravec said — sweeping the freeze across the country and making storm conditions more intense.

    The U.S. probably won’t reach record-breaking lows, like those seen in the cold snap of 1983 or the polar vortex of 2014, Maue said.

    Still, “for most people alive, this will be a memorable, top-10 extreme cold event,” Maue said.

    ———

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Storm adds uncertainty to strong holiday travel demand

    Storm adds uncertainty to strong holiday travel demand

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    Concerns about illness or inflation aren’t stopping Americans from hitting the roads and airports this holiday season. But a massive winter storm might.

    Forecasters predict an onslaught of heavy snow, ice, flooding and even tornadoes from Thursday to Saturday in a broad swath of the country, from the Plains and Midwest to the East Coast. A surge of Arctic air will follow. The Christmas weekend could be the coldest in decades.

    The blast of frigid weather began hammering the Pacific Northwest Tuesday morning, and is expected to move to the northern Rockies, then grip the Plains in a deep-freeze and blanket the Midwest with heavy snowfall, forecasters say. By Friday, the arctic front is forecast to spread bone-chilling cold as far south as Florida.

    Authorities across the country are worried about the potential for power outages and warned people to take precautions to protect the elderly, the homeless and livestock — and, if possible, to postpone travel.

    The northern-most regions of the U.S. could see wind chills approaching 70 degrees below zero (minus 57 Celsius) — cold enough to leave exposed skin frostbitten in a matter of minutes. The heaviest snow is expected in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, according to the National Weather Service, and frigid wind will be fierce across the country’s mid-section.

    For travelers, an early sign of trouble came Tuesday in Seattle, where a winter storm caused at least 192 flight cancellations, according to the FlightAware tracking service. Greyhound also canceled bus service between Seattle and Spokane.

    Airlines offered travelers the option of choosing new flights to avoid the bad weather. Delta, American, United and Southwest waived change fees at airports that might be affected.

    The Transportation Safety Administration expected Dec. 22 and Dec. 30 to be the busiest days at U.S. airports, with traffic expected to be close to pre-pandemic levels.

    Airports said they would work hard to stay open. Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports said they have 350 pieces of equipment and 400,000 gallons of pavement de-icing fluid between them to keep runways and taxiways clear.

    The weather added uncertainty to what was expected to be a busy travel season. Earlier this month, AAA estimated that nearly 113 million people would travel 50 miles from home or more between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. That’s 4% higher than last year, although still short of the record 119 million in 2019.

    Most planned to travel by car. About 6% will travel by air, AAA said. Either way, many travelers could find themselves hastily changing their itineraries.

    Joel Lustre originally planned to drive from Bloomington, Indiana, to McGregor, Iowa, on Thursday. But he shifted his work schedule, and his wife cancelled an appointment so they could leave Wednesday and beat the storm.

    Kurt Ebenhoch, a consumer travel advocate and former airline executive, said the fee waivers for inclement weather that airlines began offering about 20 years ago give consumers valuable time ahead of a storm to figure out alternate days and routes.

    But consumers need to read the fine print carefully. Delta, for example, is currently waiving any difference in fares for rebooked travel that happens before Dec. 25 for flights out of the Pacific Northwest. But if the flights are rebooked to a date after Dec. 25, passengers may have to pay the fare difference.

    Ebenhoch said passengers have the right to ask the airline to book them on a different airline’s flight if there are no options that meet their needs. And if the airline cancels the flight, consumers have the right to a full refund, not just credits for future travel.

    The urge to travel and visit family and friends over the holidays appeared to outweigh concerns about illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said coronavirus cases and deaths have increased in recent weeks, and the trio of COVID-19, seasonal flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to stress the health care system.

    William Karr was traveling Monday from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, where he planned to meet up with his sister and then drive to Iowa. Karr said he would wear a mask on the flight to avoid getting sick over the holidays, but he has taken other flights unmasked.

    “I think the precautions sort of go out the window at a certain point, and people are willing to catch COVID if it means they’ll be home with their families,” Karr said.

    Inflation also didn’t seem to be cutting into holiday travel demand. The average round-trip airfare rose 22% to $397 in the second quarter of this year — the most recent period available — according to U.S. government data. That was higher than overall U.S. price inflation, which peaked at 9% in June.

    Stacie Seal, who was flying Monday from Los Angeles to her home in Boise, Idaho, said her family had opted to visit Disneyland using two free companion tickets, which are earned through airline credit cards.

    “If I had to buy the tickets without a companion fare, I’d probably pause and think about the price now,” she said.

    Lindsey Roeschke, a travel and hospitality analyst with Morning Consult, a market research company, said travelers appear to be cutting back in other ways.

    In a recent survey, Morning Consult found that 28% of U.S. travelers were planning a one-day trip for the holidays, up from 14% last year. There was also an uptick in the number of people planning to stay with friends or family instead of at hotels. Roeschke thinks higher prices were a factor.

    “Inflation is still playing a role,” Roeschke said. “It’s not keeping people from traveling, but it’s maybe shifting the way they actually travel.”

    ———

    Associated Press News Associate Amancai Biraben contributed from Los Angeles.

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  • Storm adds uncertainty to strong holiday travel demand

    Storm adds uncertainty to strong holiday travel demand

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    Concerns about illness or inflation aren’t stopping Americans from hitting the roads and airports this holiday season. But a massive winter storm might.

    Forecasters predict an onslaught of heavy snow, ice, flooding and even tornadoes from Thursday to Saturday in a broad swath of the country, from the Plains and Midwest to the East Coast. A surge of Arctic air will follow. The Christmas weekend could be the coldest in decades.

    An early sign of trouble came Tuesday in Seattle, where a winter storm caused at least 192 flight cancellations, according to the FlightAware tracking service. Greyhound also canceled bus service between Seattle and Spokane.

    Airlines offered travelers the option of choosing new flights to avoid the bad weather. Delta, American, United and Southwest waived change fees at airports that might be affected.

    The Transportation Safety Administration expected Dec. 22 and Dec. 30 to be the busiest days at U.S. airports, with traffic expected to be close to pre-pandemic levels.

    Airports said they would work hard to stay open. Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports said they have 350 pieces of equipment and 400,000 gallons of pavement de-icing fluid between them to keep runways and taxiways clear.

    The weather added uncertainty to what was expected to be a busy travel season. Earlier this month, AAA estimated that nearly 113 million people would travel 50 miles from home or more between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. That’s 4% higher than last year, although still short of the record 119 million in 2019.

    Most planned to travel by car. About 6% will travel by air, AAA said. Either way, many travelers could find themselves hastily changing their itineraries.

    Joel Lustre originally planned to drive from Bloomington, Indiana, to McGregor, Iowa, on Thursday. But he shifted his work schedule, and his wife cancelled an appointment so they could leave Wednesday and beat the storm.

    Kurt Ebenhoch, a consumer travel advocate and former airline executive, said the fee waivers for inclement weather that airlines began offering about 20 years ago give consumers valuable time ahead of a storm to figure out alternate days and routes.

    But consumers need to read the fine print carefully. Delta, for example, is currently waiving any difference in fares for rebooked travel that happens before Dec. 25 for flights out of the Pacific Northwest. But if the flights are rebooked to a date after Dec. 25, passengers may have to pay the fare difference.

    Ebenhoch said passengers have the right to ask the airline to book them on a different airline’s flight if there are no options that meet their needs. And if the airline cancels the flight, consumers have the right to a full refund, not just credits for future travel.

    The urge to travel and visit family and friends over the holidays appeared to outweigh concerns about illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said coronavirus cases and deaths have increased in recent weeks, and the trio of COVID-19, seasonal flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to stress the health care system.

    William Karr was traveling Monday from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, where he planned to meet up with his sister and then drive to Iowa. Karr said he would wear a mask on the flight to avoid getting sick over the holidays, but he has taken other flights unmasked.

    “I think the precautions sort of go out the window at a certain point, and people are willing to catch COVID if it means they’ll be home with their families,” Karr said.

    Inflation also didn’t seem to be cutting into holiday travel demand. The average round-trip airfare rose 22% to $397 in the second quarter of this year — the most recent period available — according to U.S. government data. That was higher than overall U.S. price inflation, which peaked at 9% in June.

    Stacie Seal, who was flying Monday from Los Angeles to her home in Boise, Idaho, said her family had opted to visit Disneyland using two free companion tickets, which are earned through airline credit cards.

    “If I had to buy the tickets without a companion fare, I’d probably pause and think about the price now,” she said.

    Lindsey Roeschke, a travel and hospitality analyst with Morning Consult, a market research company, said travelers appear to be cutting back in other ways.

    In a recent survey, Morning Consult found that 28% of U.S. travelers were planning a one-day trip for the holidays, up from 14% last year. There was also an uptick in the number of people planning to stay with friends or family instead of at hotels. Roeschke thinks higher prices were a factor.

    “Inflation is still playing a role,” Roeschke said. “It’s not keeping people from traveling, but it’s maybe shifting the way they actually travel.”

    ———

    Associated Press News Associate Amancai Biraben contributed from Los Angeles.

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  • Hawaii winter storm: thunder, hail and power outages

    Hawaii winter storm: thunder, hail and power outages

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    HONOLULU — A strong winter storm downed trees, knocked out power and flooded soccer fields as it moved across the Hawaiian Islands. Snow fell on the Big Island’s tallest peaks.

    National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Rozanski said Tuesday that the weather is typical of the kind of storm Hawaii occasionally gets in December and January. He called these storms “infrequent but not unusual.”

    The cold front came in from the northwest, delivering thunderstorms, powerful wind gusts and high surf. Some residents reported pea-sized hail, which Rozanski said was to be expected during a storm of this kind.

    Honolulu received dozens of calls about downed trees and branches. The county’s parks department closed Waipio’s soccer fields because they were saturated.

    A power outage forced the closure of the Wailuku courthouse. That prompted Hawaii Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald to order the rescheduling of hearings, trials and filing deadlines on Maui.

    Talmadge Magno, the director of Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency, said that downed trees and flooding have blocked some roads.

    Snow fell on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, including where a vent was spewing lava only a few weeks ago as Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in 38 years. Winter snow on these mountains is not uncommon at high elevations. Mauna Kea rises to 13,803 feet (4,207 meters), and Mauna Loa is 13,679 feet (4,169 m).

    The storm was still battering the Big Island as it moved east on Tuesday. Magno said his agency expects to report the extent of the storm damage to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency on Friday.

    The cold front is separate from another storm that started hitting the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday and that’s expected to move to the northern Rockies, Plains and Midwest.

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  • Hawaii winter storm: thunder, hail and power outages

    Hawaii winter storm: thunder, hail and power outages

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    HONOLULU — A strong winter storm downed trees, knocked out power and flooded soccer fields as it moved across the Hawaiian Islands. Snow fell on the Big Island’s tallest peaks.

    National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Rozanski said Tuesday that the weather is typical of the kind of storm Hawaii occasionally gets in December and January. He called these storms “infrequent but not unusual.”

    The cold front came in from the northwest, delivering thunderstorms, powerful wind gusts and high surf. Some residents reported pea-sized hail, which Rozanski said was to be expected during a storm of this kind.

    Honolulu received dozens of calls about downed trees and branches. The county’s parks department closed Waipio’s soccer fields because they were saturated.

    A power outage forced the closure of the Wailuku courthouse. That prompted Hawaii Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald to order the rescheduling of hearings, trials and filing deadlines on Maui.

    Talmadge Magno, the director of Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency, said that downed trees and flooding have blocked some roads.

    Snow fell on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, including where a vent was spewing lava only a few weeks ago as Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in 38 years. Winter snow on these mountains is not uncommon at high elevations. Mauna Kea rises to 13,803 feet (4,207 meters), and Mauna Loa is 13,679 feet (4,169 m).

    The storm was still battering the Big Island as it moved east on Tuesday. Magno said his agency expects to report the extent of the storm damage to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency on Friday.

    The cold front is separate from another storm that started hitting the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday and that’s expected to move to the northern Rockies, Plains and Midwest.

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  • US braces for dangerous blast of cold, wind and snow

    US braces for dangerous blast of cold, wind and snow

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    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A large of swath of the U.S. braced Tuesday for a dangerous mix of below-freezing temperatures, howling winds and blizzard conditions scheduled to arrive on the first day of winter and disrupt plans for millions of holiday travelers.

    The blast of wintry weather will descend upon the Plains and upper Midwest on Wednesday, then blow toward Appalachia and the East Coast. Authorities across the country are worried about the potential for power outages and warned people to take precautions to protect the elderly, the homeless and livestock — and, if possible, to postpone travel.

    The northern-most regions of the U.S. could see wind chills approaching 70 degrees below zero (minus 57 Celsius) in the coming days.

    Even warm-weather states are preparing for the worst. Texas officials are hoping to avoid a repeat of the February 2021 storm that left millions without power, some for several days. Temperatures were expected to dip to near freezing as far south as central Florida by the weekend, raising worries about the homeless.

    The drop in temperatures will be precipitous. In Denver, the high on Wednesday will be around 50 degrees (10 degrees Celsius); by Thursday, it is forecast to plummet to around zero (minus 18 Celsius).

    The heaviest snow is expected in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, according to the National Weather Service, and frigid wind will be fierce across the country’s mid-section.

    “I would not be surprised if there are lots of delays due to wind and also a lot of delays due to the snow,” said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

    Flights nationwide were generally on schedule by midday Tuesday, but not in Seattle. A combination of snow, rain and low visibility caused nearly 200 flight cancellations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Tuesday morning. Greyhound cancelled bus service between Seattle and Spokane, Washington, due to winter weather.

    In Oregon, one person died Tuesday in an accident on Interstate 84 near Rooster Rock State Park when a semi-truck collided with their SUV. Police said the thin layer of ice on the highway may have been a contributing factor.

    Nearly 113 million Americans were expected to travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday season, up 4% from last year but still short of the record 119 million in 2019, according to AAA. Most were planning to travel by car; around 6% were planning to fly.

    Several inches of snow were expected from Chicago through the Great Lakes region by Friday. Snow also was forecast in the lower Midwest. With the storm approaching, Delta, American, United and Southwest airlines said they were waiving change fees for people at airports impacted by bad weather.

    Snow and near-record cold temperatures had Montana under a winter storm warning. The National Weather Service predicted wind-chill levels that could approach 60 degrees below zero (minus 51 Celsius) by Thursday morning. Exposed skin could be frostbitten in a matter of minutes.

    Almost impossibly, the forecast was even worse for parts of Wyoming. The 1,500-resident town of Lusk could see wind chills of 70 degrees below zero (minus 57 Celsius.) The National Weather Service’s Cheyenne office said the temperature and wind chill Wednesday night into Thursday “features some of the most extreme values you will ever see!”

    “Please take precautions: Check on elderly/vulnerable, protect pets, shelter livestock, cover exposed skin!” the service said on Twitter.

    Karina Jones’ family raises about 400 head of cattle in north-central Nebraska near Broken Bow, where wind chills as low as 50 below zero (minus 46 Celsius) are expected Thursday and Friday mornings. She said Nebraska cattle ranchers are “a hearty bunch,” but the bitter cold is rough.

    Ranchers “lie awake at night praying that you did everything you could for your livestock,” Jones said.

    In Kansas, where up to 4 inches of snow is expected to accompany wind chills dipping to 40 degrees below zero (minus 40 Celsius), Shawn Tiffany runs three feedlots with about 35,000 cattle combined. He’s worried about keeping 40 employees safe and warm.

    “Every conversation I’ve had for the last four days has consisted of ‘Are you prepared and are you ready?’ Everybody is taking it very seriously,” Tiffany said.

    In Texas, where the temperature is expected to drop to around 11 degrees (minus 12 Celsius), the bitter cold was expected to be another test for the state’s power grid.

    A historic freeze in February 2021 led to one of the biggest power outages in U.S. history, knocking out electricity to 4 million customers in Texas and leading to hundreds of deaths.

    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s power grid, said last week it expects to have sufficient generation to meet anticipated electricity demand during this week’s winter blast. The council said it has implemented reforms to increase reliability, including bringing more generation online sooner if needed and purchasing more reserve power.

    But a report on the power grid that ERCOT published last month said that Texans could still face possible power outages this winter if an extreme storm prompted very high demand for electricity.

    The frigid weather offers another hurdle to the homeless. In Kansas City, Missouri, emergency shelters are opening for anyone needing warmth, food or safety. Organizers warn, though, that capacity is limited overnight.

    “We’re going to get in as many as we can,” said Karl Ploeger, chief development officer for City Union Mission, a Christian nonprofit.

    If the shelters are over-capacity at night, the mission works with other organizations to try and find alternatives spaces for people.

    “If we’re full and some other sources are full, they are going to have to figure out how to keep themselves warm. We try to avoid that, we don’t want that to happen, especially in the dangerous conditions,” Ploeger said.

    Northern Florida cities such as Tallahassee see temperatures in the low 20s (minus 3 Celsius) on Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas nights. The forecast calls for temperatures to drop to near freezing as far south as Tampa.

    ———

    Lozano reported from Houston and Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, Julie Walker in New York, Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Jill Zeman Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit and Amy Hanson in Helena, Montana, contributed to this report.

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  • Dozens hurt in turbulent Hawaii flight, 11 seriously

    Dozens hurt in turbulent Hawaii flight, 11 seriously

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    HONOLULU — A flight from Phoenix to Honolulu carrying many people traveling for the holidays encountered severe turbulence shortly before landing, sending some unrestrained people and objects flying about the cabin and seriously injuring 11 people, officials and passengers said.

    In all, 36 people received medical treatment following Sunday’s turbulent Hawaiian Airlines flight for bumps, bruises, cuts and nausea, said Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu Emergency Medical Services. Twenty people were taken to hospitals, including 11 in serious condition.

    “We are also very happy, and we feel fortunate that there were not any deaths or other critical injuries. And we’re also very hopeful that all will recover and make a full recovery,” Ireland said.

    The full flight had nearly 300 people aboard and carried many passengers traveling to Hawaii for the holidays, like Jacie Hayata Ano, who was heading home.

    “It was just rocky,” she told KHON-TV. “And then, it quickly just escalated to the point where we’re shaking so much that we were pretty much like floating off of our chairs.”

    Hawaiian Airlines Chief Operating Officer Jon Snook said such turbulence is isolated and unusual, noting that the airline hadn’t experienced anything like it in recent history. Three flight attendants were among the injured, he said.

    Passenger Kaylee Reyes told Hawaii News Now that her mother had just sat down when the turbulence hit and had not had a chance to buckle her safety belt.

    “She flew up and hit the ceiling,” Reyes said.

    Jazmin Bitanga, who was also traveling home for the holidays, said there were two drops in altitude, including one that was so strong it sent her boyfriend’s water bottle into the plane’s ceiling.

    “I turned around and there was a couple of people bleeding and just bracing themselves,” she told Hawaii News Now. “Just all around me, there were people crying.”

    There was some internal damage to the aircraft during the turbulence, Snook said. The fasten-seat belts sign was on at the time, though some of those injured weren’t wearing them, he said.

    Thomas Vaughan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, said there had been a weather advisory for thunderstorms that included Oahu and areas that would have included the flight path at the time of the turbulence.

    The airline was aware of the weather forecast and the unstable air and weather conditions, but had no warning that the particular patch of air where the turbulence occurred “was in any way dangerous,” Snook said.

    He didn’t know how much altitude the plane lost during the turbulence, saying that would be part of an investigation involving the National Transportation Safety Board. The plane’s flight data recorder would provide those details, he said.

    The investigation would also address precisely what the passengers and crew were doing at the time, he said.

    The Airbus A330-200 began its descent immediately after the turbulence, and the crew declared an emergency because of the number of injuries on board, he said. Air traffic controllers gave the flight priority to land.

    The aircraft will undergo an thorough inspection and maintenance, mostly to fix components in the cabin, Snook said.

    Snook said he could only speculate whether some passengers hit their heads, but that was likely based on the injuries and the damage to cabin paneling.

    “If you don’t have your seat belt on, you stay where you are as the aircraft goes down, and that’s how those injuries occur,” Snook said.

    The investigation will examine what other measures were taken, aside from turning on the fasten0seat belt sign, to ensure passengers were buckled in, he said.

    In 2019, 37 passengers and flight crew members were injured when an Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Sydney hit intense turbulence about two hours past Hawaii. The Boeing 777-200 was diverted to Honolulu, where the injured received treatment. Thirty people were taken to hospitals and nine had serious injuries.

    Over the Atlantic, a 2017 American Airlines flight from Athens hit severe turbulence along the New York coastline. Seven crew members and three passengers were injured.

    Most people associate turbulence with heavy storms. But the most dangerous type is so-called clear-air turbulence. The wind-shear phenomenon can occur in wispy cirrus clouds or even clear air near thunderstorms, as differences in temperature and pressure create powerful currents of fast-moving air.

    Planes can sail into clear-air turbulence without warning.

    ———

    Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed to this report.

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  • Alabama closes some oystering areas, sparking complaints

    Alabama closes some oystering areas, sparking complaints

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    DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. — Alabama officials have closed some oystering grounds in Mobile Bay, prompting complaints from harvesters.

    The move by the Alabama Marine Resource Division is part of a continuing effort to keep wild oyster reefs in the Gulf of Mexico from being killed by overharvesting.

    The state closed the western half of its oystering area in Mobile Bay on Nov. 23, WKRG-TV reports, and closed two small but productive areas in the eastern half of the bay on Tuesday.

    Meeting with oyster harvesters on Dauphin Island, AMRD director Scott Bannon said the closure was part of an effort to rebuild the state’s population of the bivalve.

    “Unfortunately, there’s just not enough oyster harvest available to do a longer season and to maintain that,” Bannon told the television station. “We would love to do that. We’d love to keep Alabama product in the market longer; we would love for them to be working longer and making good money.”

    Some harvesters say the state is cutting off their main source of income during the peak winter season for Gulf oysters.

    “They shut us down all the time and there’s oysters out there and they won’t let us work them,” said Harry Harris.

    Much harvesting is done from small boats, and oyster catchers say the water is too choppy for those vessels in the parts of Mobile Bay that are still open.

    “A lot of small vessels can’t get that limit; they can’t even get out there,” said Michael Williams. “It’s too rough.”

    Bannon said a new grid system implemented by the state is meant to keep small areas like the ones closed from being overworked.

    The department opened Alabama’s reefs Oct. 3. It reported late that month that the number of harvesters seeking oysters had risen from last year and that 1,200 sacks of oysters per day were being pulled out of Mobile Bay, up from 800 a day last year. Oyster harvesters are limited to six sacks per day, each holding 85 pounds (39 kilograms). Bannon said those catching the limit can make $500 a day.

    Other Gulf states have also imposed restrictions.

    Mississippi allowed no harvest at all in 2021-2022 and has not announced an opening date for this year. That state’s oyster stocks, already in sharp decline, collapsed after the Mississippi Sound was swamped by Mississippi River floodwaters released through the Bonnet Carre Spillway in 2019. Heavy rains also dumped large amounts of freshwater into the Mississippi Sound in 2021, again upsetting the salinity needed for oysters to thrive.

    The spillway release also led Louisiana to close public oyster harvests east of the Mississippi River from 2019 through 2022. Louisiana reopened those areas in October.

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  • US blizzard expected to impact millions in Rockies, Midwest

    US blizzard expected to impact millions in Rockies, Midwest

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    SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A massive winter storm blew toward the center of the U.S. on Monday, threatening millions of people with heavy snow, freezing rain and flooding.

    The National Weather Service warned that there would be “numerous, widespread, and impactful weather hazards in the heart of the country this week.” Across the Rockies and into the northern Plains and parts of the Midwest, people were warned to prepare for blizzard-like conditions. Those farther south in Texas and Louisiana could get heavy rains with flash flooding, hail and tornadoes by Tuesday. The storm will continue southeast into Florida later in the week, forecasters said.

    “It will be a busy week while this system moves across the country,” said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s headquarters in College Park, Maryland.

    Officials in western South Dakota told residents to brace for 6 inches (15 centimeters) or more of snow: “Get your shovels handy, get your groceries, and check other needed supplies. The roads will be hard to travel.”

    A swath of country stretching from Montana into western Nebraska and Colorado was under blizzard warnings Monday, and the National Weather Service said that as much as 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow was possible in some areas of western South Dakota and northwestern Nebraska. Meanwhile, ice and sleet were expected in the eastern Great Plains.

    National Weather Service warned that up to about half an inch (2.5 centimeters) of ice could form and winds could gust up to 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) in parts of Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota. Power outages, tree damage, falling branches and hazardous travel conditions all threatened the region.

    “This is a ‘we are not kidding’ kind of storm,” the South Dakota Department of Public Safety said in a tweet urging people to stock up on essentials, then stay home once the storm hits.

    Thousands of students from Native American communities across Wyoming, Nebraska and the Dakotas were traveling to Rapid City, South Dakota, for this week’s Lakota Nation Invitational, a high school athletic event. Brian Brewer, one of the organizers, said he had urged schools and participants to travel early.

    “We told them with this storm coming — if you leave tomorrow, there’s a good chance you might not make it,” he said Monday.

    In northern Utah, a tour bus crashed Monday morning as snow and frigid temperatures blanketed the region. The bus flipped onto its side in Tremonton after the driver lost control while switching lanes, the Highway Patrol said in a statement. The Highway Patrol said 23 passengers were injured, including some seriously.

    The weather is part of the same system that dumped heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada over the weekend.

    In Northern California, most mountain highways had reopened Monday. Remaining warnings in Southern California mountains were expected to expire late Monday night, the National Weather Service said.

    With winter still more than a week away, it was the latest fall storm to bring significant precipitation to California, which is dealing with the impacts of years of drought that have spurred calls for water conservation.

    The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab northwest of Lake Tahoe reported that the storm dropped 54.5 inches (138.5 centimeters) of snow.

    The Sierra snowpack, which on average is at its peak on April 1, is normally a significant source of water when it melts in the spring. Throughout the drought experts have cautioned about optimism over early season storms as climate change makes what were once average conditions rare.

    Last year, a powerful atmospheric river dumped huge amounts of rain on California in October and a wet stretch in December left parts of the Sierra Nevada buried in snow. Then the state experienced its driest January through April on record.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Sam Metz in Salt Lake City, Trisha Ahmed in Minneapolis and John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed reporting.

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  • 3 dead in Louisiana as US storm spawns Southern tornadoes

    3 dead in Louisiana as US storm spawns Southern tornadoes

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    KEITHVILLE, La. (AP) — A vast and volatile storm system ripping across the U.S. killed at least three people in Louisiana, spinning up tornadoes that battered the state from north to south, including the New Orleans area where memories of 2021′s Hurricane Ida and a tornado in March linger.

    Elsewhere, the huge system hurled blizzard-like conditions at the Great Plains.

    Several injuries were reported around Louisiana by authorities, and more than 40,000 power outages statewide as of Wednesday night.

    The punishing storms barreled eastward Wednesday after killing a mother and son in the northwestern part of the state a day earlier. The system spun off a suspected tornado that killed a woman Wednesday in southeast Louisiana’s St. Charles Parish and another that pummeled parts of New Orleans and neighboring Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes — including areas badly damaged by a March tornado.

    A tornado struck New Iberia, Louisiana, slightly injuring five people and smashing out windows of a multistory building at Iberia Medical Center, the hospital said. As night drew on, tornado threats eased in Mississippi, although some counties in Florida and Alabama remained under a severe weather threat.

    New Orleans emergency director Collin Arnold said business and residences in the city suffered significant wind damage, largely on the Mississippi River’s west bank. One home collapsed. Four people were injured there, he said, adding, “The last word we had is that they were stable.”

    Similar damage was reported nearby.

    “Several homes and businesses have suffered catastrophic damage,” the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement from that large suburb west of New Orleans. Among the heavily damaged buildings was the sheriff’s office’s training academy building.

    In St. Bernard Parish — where the March twister caused devastation — Sheriff Jimmy Pohlman said the latest tornado damage covered a roughly 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) stretch. Parish President Guy McInnis said the damage was less than in the March tornado though numerous roofs were blown away or damaged.

    Authorities in St. Charles Parish, west of New Orleans, said a woman was found dead there after a suspected tornado on Wednesday struck the community of Killona along the Mississippi River, damaging homes. Eight people were taken to hospitals with injuries, they said.

    “She was outside the residence, so we don’t know exactly what happened,” St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said of the woman killed. ”There was debris everywhere. She could have been struck. We don’t know for sure. But this was a horrific and a very violent tornado.”

    About 280 miles (450 kilometers) away in northern Louisiana, it took hours for authorities to find the bodies of a mother and child missing after a tornado swept away their mobile home Tuesday in Keithville, south of Shreveport.

    “You go to search a house and the house isn’t even there, so where do you search?” Gov. John Bel Edwards told reporters, noting the challenge faced by emergency responders as he toured a mile-long (1.6-kilometer) path of destruction in rural Keithville. He had issued an emergency declaration earlier in the day.

    The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office said the body of 8-year-old Nikolus Little was found late Tuesday night in some woods and the body of his mother, Yoshiko A. Smith, 30, under storm debris early Wednesday.

    Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Sgt. Casey Jones said the boy’s father had gone for groceries before the storm. “He just went to go shopping for his family, came home and the house was gone,” said Jones.

    The storms battered Louisiana from north to south. In Union Parish, near the Arkansas line, Farmerville Mayor John Crow said a tornado Tuesday night badly damaged an apartment complex where 50 families lived, wiping out a neighboring trailer park with about 10 homes. “It happened quick,” Crow said Wednesday, adding about 30 homes also were damaged along nearby Lake D’Arbonne.

    A suspected tornado reported Wednesday in New Iberia in southwest Louisiana damaged several buildings of the New Iberia Medical Center, hospital officials said, with five people reporting minor injuries.

    In neighboring Mississippi’s Rankin County, a suspected tornado destroyed four large chicken houses, one containing 5,000 roosters, Sheriff Bryan Bailey said. Mobile homes at a park in Sharkey County, Mississppi, were reduced to shredded debris.

    The storm began its cross-country journey by dumping heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada. Damage followed Tuesday when thunderstorms from the storm swept through Texas. At least five people were injured In the Dallas suburb of Grapevine, police spokesperson Amanda McNew said.

    Forecasters now expect the vast system to hobble the upper Midwest with ice, rain and snow for days, and also move into the central Appalachians and Northeast. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch from Wednesday night through Friday afternoon, depending on the timing of the storm. Residents from West Virginia to Vermont were told to watch for a possible significant mix of snow, ice and sleet.

    “This system is notable for the fact that it’s going impact areas all the way from California to eventually the Northeast,” said meteorologist Frank Pereira with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

    In the Black Hills of western South Dakota, snow piled up to nearly 2 feet (60 centimeters) in some s(pts. “They shovel for hours on end,” said Vicki Weekly, who manages a historic hotel in the tourist and gambling city of Deadwood. where some visitors still ventured out to the casinos.

    A roughly 320-mile (520-kilometer) span of Interstate 90 in South Dakota was closed Wednesday, and state officials warned drivers there to stay off most highways.

    In northern Minnesota, wet, heavy snow left tree limbs sagging and made driving treacherous Wednesday. Weather Service meteorologist Ketzel Levens in Duluth said 6 to 8 inches (15-20 centimeters) of snow had accumulated in some areas.

    ___

    McGill reported from New Orleans. Associated Press writers Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Ken Miller in Oklahoma City; Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas; Julie Walker in New York; Sam Metz in Salt Lake City; Trisha Ahmed in Minneapolis; Jesse Bedayn in Denver; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

    ___

    This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Keithville.

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