Brutal cold hammered the US East Coast after a “bomb cyclone” moved out, with dozens of records cold set over the weekend.
At least 22 people in the United States have died in brutal cold weather following a massive winter storm causing the weather to become even more unbearable across the Northeast and Midwest of the country.
In one of the latest fatalities attributed to the weather, a car slid off an icy road, killing a pedestrian early on Friday in North Charleston in the southeastern US state of South Carolina, city officials said.
In the eastern state of Virginia, two died in the aftermath of a snowstorm this week, including a girl struck by a pickup truck while sledding and a 75-year-old man hit by a snow-plow while clearing the business parking lots, said local authorities.
Outside Boston in the northeastern state of Massachusetts, a state Water Resources Authority worker collapsed into a snow bank while shoveling snow and died on Friday.
US meteorologists called the winter storm in the week a “bomb cyclone” for its rapid and rare drop in atmospheric pressure. The storm crawled up northeastern America Thursday morning with high winds and heavy snowfalls.
Some southeastern coast areas of Georgia and Florida in southeastern US received a rare 15 cm of snow.
In New England, the northeast corner of the country, powerful winds brought coastal flooding that reached record high levels in some communities, promoting rescues of people trapped in cars and homes by rapidly rising water.
The ongoing cold weather inevitably interrupted the local citizens’ daily life.
In the eastern US state of New Jersey, many residents chose to stay home instead of dealing with the wind chill. Some said their cars felt like icebox even though they had the heat on full blast.
Nearly 500 flights were canceled and more than 3,000 flights were delayed across the country, according to the local flight tracking website.
Travellers at the New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport experienced lengthy delays due to heavy snowfall after this week’s storm. Hundreds of airline passengers were forced to spend Friday night inside the airport.
Many homes and business along the seaboard still lived in the fear of electricity outages as strong winds challenged crews who tried to restore power.
When the new week starts, things will get better. The temperature will gradually rise as the cold air drifts away.
However, a swath of snow, ice and rain is also forecast to develop and spread over a large portion of central United States during the retreat of the Arctic air.
