Heavy Winter Storm in US East Coast Shuts Down Power Supply, Thousands of Flights Cancelled

(Photo : STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Snow blankets the ground around the US Capitol following a snowstorm in Washington, DC, on January 16, 2022. - Millions of Americans were braced for heavy snow and freezing rain Sunday as a major winter storm closed in on the eastern United States, knocking power out to an estimated 200,000 people and counting. The "strong storm over the Southeast/Southern Appalachians will move northeastward inland from the coast to Southeastern Canada by Tuesday," the National Weather Service said on its website.

A severe winter storm affecting a large portion of Southeast U.S. brought freezing rain, ice, and snow, and it is heading to the Northeastern states.

"The significant winter storm that has been plaguing the eastern third of the country will slowly wind down today. However, significant impacts due to snow, ice, wind, and coastal flooding will persist across a large area," NWS Weather Prediction Center tweeted on Monday.

Roughly three million people in the Northeast, including New York City and Boston, are under high wind advisories. Wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour are possible, with gusts up to 65 miles per hour in some sections of Maine, as per CNN.

Flights Canceled Across US

As per Fox News, more than 1,000 flights were canceled on Monday as the winter storm moved across the eastern United States.

Estimated at least 1,200 flights have been canceled as of 3:00 a.m. the canceled flights include 207 at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Meanwhile, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, at least 78 flights have been canceled.

The power supply went off for thousands of people on the East Coast amid the blizzard.

According to the website PowerOutage.us, more than 60,000 people are without power in North and South Carolina. As of Monday morning, Georgia had more than 27,000 customers without power, while around 25,000 had no electricity in Pennsylvania.

In Florida, hurricane-force winds caused power outages. While the Northeast and New England are expecting heavy snow that may reach more than one foot.

According to the National Weather Service, Flat Rock, N.C., the community received more than 15 inches of snow during the winter storm.

Dozens of counties stretching from South Carolina to Maine remain under winter weather warnings and advisories.

'Pretty Bad' Blizzard

Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina issued emergency orders in preparation for the winter storm. The official asked his constituents to brace themselves for a "pretty bad storm."

"The good news is it'll be coming on the weekend and holiday on Monday, so schools and offices will be closed. That's good because there won't be that many people on the roads and that's good because we're expecting a lot of ice on the roads," McMaster said, as per NBC report.

On Monday, several schools and businesses have closed down in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is expected to bring down the number of people on the roads, but those who venture outside were advised to keep an eye out for downed trees or power lines due to the blizzard.

The significant winter storm that has been plaguing the eastern third of the country will slowly wind down today. However, significant impacts due to snow, ice, wind, and coastal flooding will persist across a large area. pic.twitter.com/L5SJenPSVJ
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) January 17, 2022

The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center released its key messages for the storm on Sunday.

"Impacts will be felt across 20 or more states from the eastern Tennessee Valley into the Carolina Piedmont, then northward across the Appalachians, Mid Atlantic, and Northeast," according to the National Weather Service.

According to weather reports, the most extreme snowfall rates in the Tennessee and Ohio valleys could be more than one inch per hour. Wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour are also expected in the state's eastern portion.