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One of the worst winter storms in years has caused traffic chaos and power outages in the eastern United States. Major cities such as New York and Boston were hit hard at the weekend, where more than 60 centimeters of snow fell. The cold snap extended as far as Florida, where the National Weather Service warned of “sporadic iguanas falling from trees” in freeze state. A woman died in her car in Long Island. Thousands of flights have been cancelled.
The states of New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware declared states of emergency. Residents were asked to refrain from non-essential trips and to stay at home as much as possible. In the city of Boston alone, 900 snow plows were on the road to clear the streets of the snow masses.
According to the Flightaware website, almost 9,000 flights were canceled in the United States on Friday and Saturday, and around 1,000 more flights were canceled for Sunday.
In New York, thousands of homeless people sought shelter in the subway system. However, the cold weather couldn’t stop Times Square’s famous “naked cowboy,” Robert Burck, from his usual street gig in his underpants, hat and cowboy boots. A snow plow driver found a woman dead in her car on Long Island in upstate New York. She probably froze to death, said Nassau County Mayor Bruce Blakeman.
The weather service warned of gusts of wind at speeds of 80 to 120 kilometers per hour and spoke of “almost impossible travel conditions” in the north-east of the USA. Due to a sudden sharp drop in air pressure, the storm developed into a “bomb cyclone” on Saturday afternoon, according to the NWS. More than 95,000 homes in Massachusetts were without power.
Frost warnings have even been issued for the south. In Florida, people have been urged to beware of iguanas, which may fall from trees in a sudden chill. The animals can weigh up to nine kilograms. Just two weeks ago, a heavy snowstorm caused massive power and flight failures in the eastern United States.
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