The winter storm that has hit the United States since the weekend has already caused at least 15 deaths, left around 800,000 homes without power and caused a collapse in air transport, with tens of thousands of flights canceled or delayed, according to authorities.
According to the American press, the deaths are associated with extreme cold, snow and accidents in different states. In Texas, a 16-year-old girl died after a sledding accident in the city of Frisco, according to local police, while another person was found dead at a gas station in Austin, with signs of hypothermia.
In New York, socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani reported this Sunday (25) that five people died in the city during the cold wave. “While we still do not know the causes of their deaths, nothing reminds us more powerfully of the danger that extreme cold poses and how vulnerable many of our neighbors are, especially homeless New Yorkers,” he said at a press conference.
According to Mamdani, the city’s public schools began operating remotely because of the storm. More than 400,000 parents, students and employees connected to virtual classes this Monday (26).
Other deaths were also recorded in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Louisiana and Kansas, according to local media outlets.
The National Weather Service (NWS) reported that the storm continues to affect the northeastern United States with heavy snowfall as it moves away from the East Coast. The agency also warned of frigid temperatures that could reach historic lows in the coming days, with values below freezing virtually every morning throughout the week, from the Northern Plains to the Ohio Valley and the Northeast.
Blackouts continue to hit large areas. According to the platform poweroutage.us778,862 homes were without electricity this Monday. The most affected states are Tennessee (247,300), Mississippi (153,620) and Louisiana (121,401). On Sunday, the number of cuts reached 1 million.
The storm also had an unprecedented impact on the airline industry. According to the FlightAware website, more than 19,000 flights originating or ending in the United States have been canceled since Saturday (24). This Sunday alone, there were more than 11,000 cancellations and 17,000 delays, in the worst day for American aviation since the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, according to US Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy.
This Monday, the most affected airports were Dallas (Texas), with 378 cancellations, and Logan, in Boston, with 321. In New York, JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports also recorded hundreds of canceled flights. Among airlines, American Airlines led the way in the number of cancellations, followed by Republic and Delta.
Authorities warn that the intense cold and disruptions to essential services are likely to persist in the coming days as the storm continues to advance across the country.
