In recent days in many areas of the United States there have been snowstorms and great cold, with temperatures reaching -51 °C in one case, strong winds that have caused the fall of trees and the death of at least two people, widespread power cuts and very poor visibility on the roads.
More than 100 million people received it on Sunday an alert for winter storm, snow and ice risks in various parts of the United States. -51°C was reached in Montana, in the north-west of the United States. In South Dakota temperatures reached -30 °C, in Arkansas -28 °C, in Texas -22 °C. According to the National Meteorological Service, temperatures will remain very low until at least mid-week, reaching -30 °C and -40 °C in several cases.
These are temperatures in which it can be risky to stay outside for more than a few minutes: the National Meteorological Service has always spoken of the risk of frostbite of exposed skin and hypothermia, and invited those who must travel to equip themselves carefully.
The extreme weather conditions of recent days have also brought winds that have caused dozens of trees to fall: on Saturday morning in Lake Oswego, Oregon, a man died when a tree fell on top of his house. Also in Oregon, but in Portland, a woman died due to a fire in a camper after a tree fell on the stove used to heat it: rescue efforts were delayed by the closure of roads due to ice, the collapse of some infrastructure electrical and other trees.
There were widespread power outages: especially in Oregon, where they affected around 130 thousand people, and in Pennsylvania, with around 37 thousand people without power. The data is from PowerOutage.us, a site that covers electric service in the United States.
They were also postponed scheduled events, such as the football game between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers in Buffalo, New York, where Governor Kathy Hochul had declaredor state of emergency in anticipation of the exceptional cold.