Iran Press/ America: A large winter storm has brought heavy snowfall and howling winds to sections of the northern United States, where authorities have urged residents to stay inside and cautioned that road travel will be nearly impossible.
At least 2,770 flights, within, into, or out of the United States, were delayed mid-afternoon Wednesday, according to the online flight tracker FlightAware.
There were more than 1,434 U.S. flight cancellations by 2 p.m. EST and at least 416 of those called-off journeys were related to Minneapolis−St. Paul International Airport. At least 243 cancellations were listed out of Denver International Airport.
The storm battered the Upper Midwest on Wednesday, working its way across large areas of the western and northern US and placing about 50 million people under winter weather advisories as the storm expands to include eastern states.
Wind gusts could also reach 50 mph, with wind chills expected to reach minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota, according to the weather service.
“Moderate, Major, and Extreme winter weather impacts are expected from the West Coast to New England with travel not advised in the Upper Midwest due to blizzard conditions,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said via Twitter on Tuesday.
In the western state of Wyoming, almost all roads were impacted.
Schools in states such as North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin were closed on Wednesday in anticipation of the storm, and snow, rain, and wind closed a large stretch of interstate highway in the Southwest.
More than two thousand flights were canceled or delayed in cities such as Chicago, Denver, and Minneapolis, and Frank Pereira, a forecaster with the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center, told Reuters that icy roads would make travel “near-impossible” in the Upper Midwest.
California was also lashed by strong winds and snowfall, with more than 100,000 homes and businesses experiencing power outages.
A blizzard warning was issued for the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties, effective from early Thursday morning to Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.
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