Part of the United States is still facing extreme weather conditions on Wednesday, January 10. In the South, at least three people died due to bad weather. In the north of the country, strong winds and snowstorms left hundreds of thousands of homes without electricity.
“Many regions have declared a state of emergency,” Karine Jean-Pierre, a White House spokesperson, announced during a press briefing on Tuesday. “We are monitoring the weather closely and encourage all Americans to do the same,” she added.
Heavy rain, causing flooding, strong winds, with gusts likely to exceed 80 km/h, and thunderstorms are affecting the east coast of the United States, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), the US weather agency. meteorology. “Don’t underestimate [this storm],” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy warned in an interview with a local media outlet, calling it “unusual.”
The deterioration of the weather led Air Force 2, the plane of Vice-President Kamala Harris, to be diverted to Dulles International Airport, in the state of Virginia, when it was supposed to land on the base in Andrews, Maryland.
Downed trees and buildings with roofs torn off
Tornadoes hit the Southeast, including Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis placed 49 counties under a state of emergency. Drone footage showed trees lying on the ground and buildings with their roofs torn off.
At least three people were killed in the south of the country due to the storm, according to local authorities. In North Carolina, one person was killed on a lot where mobile homes are congregated, several of which were damaged, according to Catawba County officials. In Georgia, a tree falling on a vehicle killed another person, according to Clayton County police. In Alabama, an octogenarian lost her life when a tornado hit her mobile home, according to Houston County authorities.
More than 890,000 customers were without electricity Tuesday evening, mainly in the east of the country, according to the poweroutage.us website. This winter storm also brought significant snowfall to the north-central part of the country (2 to 5 centimeters per hour), precipitation which is now gradually affecting the Great Lakes region, according to the weather service.
In the northwest United States, snowstorm warnings were also issued, for the first time in a decade, in the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Range, according to the New York Times.
In the United States, as in the rest of the world, the frequency, intensity and unpredictability of severe weather are increasing due to climate change.