Massive winter storm freezes U.S. and strands travelers 2022
The storm was unofficially named Winter Storm Elliott by The Weather Channel. The National Weather Service in Buffalo, New York, described it as a "once-in-a-generation storm" in forecasts and NOAA's Weather Prediction Center later remarked that it was a "historic arctic outbreak".
The extreme winter storm and Arctic outbreak hammering swaths of North America have left many parts of the U.S. facing frigid temperatures and travel nightmares.
Much of the country woke up on Christmas Day to cold temperatures, power outages, travel delays and dangerous weather conditions that have left several people dead. It was weakening overnight, but still remained a threat to some areas, notably Buffalo, New York.
"Heavy snow will bring major impacts to many areas across the country," the weather service warned. "Travel could become impossible."
A stretch of California Highway 89 was closed because of heavy snow in the Lake Tahoe area, the highway patrol said. Parts of the Sierra Nevada could see 5 feet of snow and whiteout conditions Sunday and Monday, the weather service said. Parts of I-80 and other roads also saw periods of closure.
At least 34 people have died in the massive storm and officials warned that toll was expected to rise, AP reports.
Weather conditions that caused the significant lake effect snow even downwind of the Great Lakes is weakening, the National Weather Service said in an update early Monday.
In the West, an atmospheric river event will bring heavy rain that could cause flash flooding, heavy high elevation snow, high winds, and areas of significant icing in parts of eastern Washington," the NWS added.
"Light accumulations of a wintry mix will be possible in the Mid-South to the Ohio Valley."
The city of Buffalo, New York, was in the midst of its worst blizzard on record, which has brought record-breaking snowfall and zero visibility.
Power outages across the U.S.
Nearly 260,000 customers across the U.S. woke up without power on Christmas Day, according to PowerOutage.us.
By early Monday, that number had dropped to just over 70,000, with nearly 33,000 of those in Maine.
New York had the second-highest number with almost 14,000 customers experiencing outages.
Flight delays and cancellations amid holiday travel
Travel problems were happening across the U.S. as many Americans tried to reach friends and family for Christmas. There were thousands of flight delays and cancellations on Saturday and Sunday, with more expected throughout the busy holiday weekend.
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