– This is a serious weather forecast, said President Joe Biden during a press conference in the White House last night. – This is not like a snow day you might have had as a child, this is serious stuff. If you are going to travel at Christmas, go now! CNN’s Christmas Eve forecast. Today it may be too late to get out. Several thousand flight routes have been cancelled, and around twenty routes with the train company Amtrack have been cancelled. There are chaos-like conditions in several states, and people are encouraged to stay at home. Canceled flights from Chicago Photo: Nam Y. Huh / AP The storm that is now affecting large parts of the East Coast and Midwest of the United States occurs very rarely, perhaps only once in every generation. Five states – Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia and North Carolina – have all implemented emergency plans, and more states are expected to follow suit. Cyclone bomb – a historic weather phenomenon In some places it is bitterly cold, with effective temperatures as low as -40. People are therefore asked to take precautions to avoid frostbite, which can occur within minutes in such cold weather. The extreme cold known as cyclone bombs is a weather phenomenon that does not occur in Norway. We have the Gulf Stream which helps us, explains meteorologist Terje Alsvik Walløe. Photo: Ole Reinert Omvik / news – In Chicago it is minus 21 degrees right now, and a slight breeze. It feels like minus 30 degrees, says state meteorologist Terje Alsvik Walløe. – Whereas in New York it is 12 plus degrees. There, they will soon experience a rapid temperature drop down to minus 12-15 degrees. – This is part of the weather phenomenon called cyclone bombs. Very cold wind from the north, which does not encounter either mountain ranges or warm seas. This allows the cold wind to flow freely down the United States. Danger warning in Chicago Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast / AP – In Norway, we have the gulf stream, which heats up winds coming from the north, and therefore we do not experience such rapid temperature drops, says Walløe. Summer tires on winter roads The storm comes when millions of Americans are going home for Christmas. Those who use a car face major problems. Warning from Wisconsin Highway Patrol: Winter storm on the way. Many Americans drive around with summer tires all year round. This creates extra challenges when winter comes suddenly. Photo: John Hart / AP The American automobile organization AAA estimates that over 100 million Americans plan to drive more than 80 kilometers between Friday and January 2. – Americans on the east coast do not have winter tyres, says Tove Bjørgaas, news’s correspondent in the USA. – This means that when they drive on the roads, it does not go so well. My landlord has asked me to take a number of measures at home so that pipes do not freeze in the house, says Tove Bjørgaas, news’s correspondent in the USA Photo: news Those who choose to stay at home also have problems in the cold. – American homes are not as insulated as Norwegian houses. Therefore, it can also get very cold indoors in many places, says Bjørgaas. Also cold in Texas It is expected that the temperature will also quickly drop in Texas in the south of the country. The state’s elected officials promise there will be no repeat of the chaos of February 2021, when a winter storm overwhelmed the state’s power grid, contributing to hundreds of deaths. – I encourage everyone to please listen to local warnings. “My team is prepared to help local communities,” President Joe Biden said last night. Photo: Patrick Semansky / AP Kulda has also reached the border town of El Paso and across the border to Ciudad Juárez in Mexico. There, migrants stay outdoors in tents or in temporary accommodation facilities while they wait to find out whether restrictions that have prevented many from seeking asylum will be lifted.
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