Η σφοδρή χιονοθύελλα έφθασε το απόγευμα της Παρασκευής στην ανατολική ακτή των ΗΠΑ, πλήττοντας την αμερικανική πρωτεύουσα, καθώς και τις γύρω Πολιτείες του Μέριλαντ, της Βιρτζίνια και της Πενσιλβάνια.
Σύμφωνα με το CNN, τα αεροδρόμια στην Ουάσινγκτον καθώς και σε γειτονικές Πολιτείες, περιλαμβανομένης της Νέας Υόρκης, παραμένουν κλειστά εξαιτίας των κακών καιρικών συνθηκών.
Σύμφωνα με τους New York Times, πέντε θάνατοι εξαιτίας της κακοκαιρίας είχαν σημειωθεί έως το βράδυ της Παρασκευής στη Βόρεια Καρολίνα, ένας στη Βιρτζίνια, ένας στο Κεντάκι και δύο στο Τενεσί.
Η χιονοθύελλα υποχρέωσε τους κυβερνήτες τουλάχιστον 10 Πολιτειών (Μέριλαντ, Βιρτζίνια, Βόρεια Καρολίνα, Τζόρτζια, Πενσιλβάνια, Ντέλαγουερ, Νιού Τζέρζι, Δυτική Βιρτζίνια, Τενεσί και Κεντάκι) να κηρύξουν κατάσταση έκτακτης ανάγκης.
Πηγές: ΑΠΕ/ΜΠΕ, Sputnik
Dire Warnings Along East Coast as Snow Piles Up
WASHINGTON
— A massive winter storm that threatens to dump two feet of snow on
the nation’s capital began pummeling the East Coast on Friday afternoon,
as millions of people from the Carolinas to New York braced for a
weekend of severe winds, power losses and coastal flooding. Thousands of
flights were canceled; governors and mayors warned people to stay
indoors and off the roads.
Governors
in at least 10 states declared states of emergency, and travel was
disrupted in at least five major airport hubs, with 6,300 flights
canceled on Friday and Saturday and 4,675 more delayed. In North
Carolina, more than 114,000 homes lost power. The Washington region’s
mass transit system took what an official called an “exceedingly rare”
step of shutting down for the weekend.
Cities
from Nashville to New York started emergency operations to respond to
what the National Weather Service deemed a “potentially crippling winter
storm.” In Virginia, where snow began falling Friday morning in the
southern part of the state, Gov. Terry McAuliffe put 700 National Guard
members on standby; by Friday evening, hundreds of accidents had been
reported. In Baltimore, shelters added hundreds of extra beds to
accommodate the homeless.
Officials
throughout the Mid-Atlantic region warned that it could be days, or
even a week, before residents will be able to dig out. In New York,
where blizzard conditions are expected to hit early Saturday and bring
18 to 24 inches of snow, Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to use
mass transit and to stay home as much as possible. “Unless it is urgent,
stay off the roads,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”
With
Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York all in line for
blizzard conditions — and winds of up to 50 miles an hour — forecasters
predicted a storm of historic proportions. Here in Washington, where
wet, heavy snowflakes began falling in the early afternoon, officials
told residents to get indoors by 3 p.m., and warned of the potential not
only for power losses and treacherous roads, but collapsed roofs.
Mayor
Muriel Bowser said the storm has “life-and-death implications.” At a
late afternoon news conference, her director of emergency operations,
Chris T. Geldart, urged drivers to get off the roads.
“This
is a dangerous storm, and it’s coming fast,” Mr. Geldart said. “This is
deteriorating quickly; we need folks to get where they are going to
be.”
Graphic
How Much Snow Has Fallen
Reported accumulations of snow across the region, updated every hour.
Meteorologists
said the dire warnings were appropriate. “Temperatures are going to be
into the upper 20s into the low 30s,” Rich Otto, a meteorologist with
the National Weather Service, said in an interview. “When you combine
that with extremely heavy snow, blowing wind — which will generate
whiteout conditions — if you are trying to venture outside, it could be
life or death.”
The
storm — called Snowmaggedon2016 on Twitter, and named Winter Storm
Jonas by the Weather Channel — could approach the 28 inches in January
1922 that ranks as Washington’s snowiest storm and is likely to easily
surpass the highest recent snowfall, 17.8 inches that fell in February
2010.
But
Mr. Otto said the region west of Washington, including parts of
Virginia, West Virginia, southeastern Pennsylvania and northern
Maryland, will form the “bull’s-eye” of the blizzard, with as much as 30
inches of snow expected there.
In
Charleston, W.Va., near-whiteout conditions appeared on Friday
afternoon as snow piled high enough to hide the curbs on the sidewalk.
City snowplow drivers reported abandoned cars blocking the roads.
On
the Jersey Shore and southern Long Island, there was concern about
possible wind-driven flooding. Given the region’s history with Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said he was more worried about flooding than snow.
“Flooding can do tremendous, tremendous damage, as we’ve learned the hard way,” Mr. Cuomo said.
By
Friday night, nine deaths — five in North Carolina, one in Virginia,
one in Kentucky and two in Tennessee — had been attributed to bad road
conditions and ice. Governors in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina,
Georgia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, West Virginia, Tennessee
and Kentucky had declared states of emergency.
Schools
throughout the region, including some universities, were closed Friday,
as were many government offices. Many businesses instructed people to
telecommute, and countless activities were postponed. President Obama
put off a White House ceremony where he was to award medals to
scientists and technology innovators. In Baltimore, the country music
star Garth Brooks postponed two sold-out shows.
At
the Capitol, lawmakers wrapped up their business early and rushed to
get out of town. And Speaker Paul D. Ryan offered a social-media worthy
alternative to streaming television: He set up a live stream
from the balcony of his office, just off the Capitol rotunda, so
Americans can watch the blizzard hit the National Mall. There were long
lines to get gas in the Washington area — some stations ran out of
regular gas on Friday.
In
suburban Bethesda, traffic was clogged with cars trying to squeeze into
the parking lot of Strosnider’s, a local hardware store. People in knit
caps and puffer coats crowded the aisles in search of batteries,
flashlights, salt and snow shovels. One woman, Susan Schwartz, gave up
and left, going to another store in nearby Kensington, which was by then
devoid of storm supplies.
“There were no shovels and no salt to be found,” she said.
In
Baltimore, where an estimated 3,000 people are homeless, more somber
preparations were underway. Deputy Mayor Dawn Kirstaetter said the city
had deployed teams of mental health specialists to bring homeless people
in from the storm. City employees planned to work overnight to staff
shelters with expanded bed space; officials at Catholic Charities of
Baltimore said they were expecting hundreds to show up for meals on
Saturday.
Five
years ago, 400 people showed up for lunch,” said Bill McCarthy, the
group’s executive director, referring to the region’s last major
blizzard, in February 2010. “I’m expecting the same thing — and they
will be served.”
In
Virginia, Mr. McAuliffe told CNN that if conditions deteriorate, he
would consider closing a major rural thoroughfare, Interstate 81. “The
second the state police call me and inform me that Interstate 81 is not
safe for traffic, I will pull the trigger immediately,” he said. “We
will shut it down immediately. This is a major snow event for us.”
Perhaps
the most extraordinary step here in Washington was the closing of the
Metro system, the bus and rail service that serves Washington and its
Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs. Trains were to stop running at
11 p.m. Friday and were not expected to resume until at least Monday
morning. Dan Stessel, a spokesman for Metro, said the early decision to
shutter the system — announced Thursday — was highly unusual.
Amid
the preparations, at least one event did go on as planned on Friday in
Washington. Even as snow started falling early in the afternoon, what
appeared to be more than a thousand anti-abortion activists — albeit
fewer than most years — rallied beneath the Washington Monument for
their annual march commemorating the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s
1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
The
crowd heard from Carly Fiorina, a Republican presidential candidate,
and Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, who thanked them for braving the cold
and “putting on your coats, your mittens and your gloves to fight for
life.”
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