Vast Winter Storm and Arctic Cold Threaten To Bring Power Outages, Devastation to Most of America

A significant, long-duration winter storm, with widespread heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain is expected to impact half of the American population this weekend with potentially “catastrophic” ice accumulations that could cause long-duration power outages. The storm will be followed by an extended arctic freeze that could break record low temperatures.More than 177 million people are being impacted by the storm and cold, according to the National Weather Service. Some areas of the South could have more than a foot of snow on the ground. Ice from the storm is also a major concern.“The storm will cause significant to locally catastrophic ice accumulations with the potential for long-duration power outages, extensive tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions,” the National Weather Service said in a storm update on Friday.“Stay safe, stay home, stay off the roads. Prepare. You know, go to the grocery store, get some eggs, get some milk, get some beer, get some pizza, whatever you do for football,” Governor Ted Lamont of Connecticut said. “Stay home on Sunday and please don’t open up any stores or anything.”People across the South and Mid-Atlantic had already packed grocery stores. Shelves were emptied as consumers stocked up on essentials like bread.Heavy snow was falling over parts of Texas and Oklahoma on Friday morning. By the afternoon, there were already more than 10,000 power outages reported in Texas.The surge of very cold Arctic air trailing the winter storm will send temperatures to the lowest levels of the season from Texas to the Northeast. Temperatures will plunge well below freezing — and in many areas below zero — across the central and eastern United States into early next week. Some areas could see temperatures 30 degrees below average for this time of the year.It was so cold on Friday that some Midwest cities — where bitter cold is nothing new — closed schools. Philadelphia already announced on Friday that schools would be closed on Monday.“AccuWeather meteorologists are increasingly concerned that extended power outages during extreme cold could become life-threatening. The sheer size of the freezing rain and ice footprint means utility crews may struggle to concentrate restoration efforts in any one area,” AccuWeather meteorologist William Clark said in a release.The Trump administration is seeking to tap AI data centers — which typically consume large amounts of power — to supply backup power.The United States Department of Energy is warning the nation’s power grid operators to prepare to make backup generation resources at data centers and other major facilities available as needed. Data centers generally have backout industrial generators installed in case of power disruptions.Energy Secretary Chris Wright sent energy reliability coordinators a letter stating that power reliability issues are especially problematic during prolonged cold snaps when additional capacity shortfalls. “The consequences can be severe,” Mr. Wright said.Mr. Wright referenced a 2021 winter storm that resulted in billions of dollars in damage and more than 200 deaths. The power grid in Texas went down during that event and left millions of customers without power for days.“We cannot stand passively in the face of the immediate and pressing need for generation resources necessary to preserve lives, support the economy, and ensure national security,” Mr. Wright said. His efforts seek to eliminate the need for rolling blackouts to keep the grid from collapsing.President Trump took notice of the expected forecast and used it to take a jab at global warming.“Record Cold Wave expected to hit 40 States,” Mr. Trump said on Truth Social. “Rarely seen anything like it before. Could the Environmental Insurrectionists please explain — WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???”A meteorologist who goes by Max Velocity on social media went viral ahead of the cold weather by claiming a large area of the upper Mid-West was in danger of exploding trees due to the cold. An X post by Mr. Velocity warned that “EXPLODING TREES are possible in the Midwest and Northern Plains on Friday and Saturday.”The post was viewed more than 11 million times and was even referenced by Pat McAfee on his popular ESPN show.The Texas A&M Forest Service posted on Friday that trees don’t actually explode but freezing conditions can cause frost cracks when water inside them expands and contracts faster than the bark can handle. The organization’s X post noted that temperatures have to drop suddenly for the phenomenon to occur.

Vast Winter Storm and Arctic Cold Threaten To Bring Power Outages, Devastation to Most of America

Vast Winter Storm and Arctic Cold Threaten To Bring Power Outages, Devastation to Most of America

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