A massive winter storm is sweeping across the United States this weekend, bringing travel to a standstill and threatening dangerous conditions for nearly half the country. The severe weather has already forced airlines to cancel roughly 11,000 flights, leaving thousands of travelers stranded.
As of Saturday noon, tracking data showed about 4,000 flights had been scrapped for the day, with another 7,600 already called off for Sunday.
The storm’s reach is incredibly wide, stretching all the way from New Mexico to New England. Weather alerts and warnings now cover more than 140 million people, which is over 40% of the entire U.S. population.
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Forecasters are warning that this system is not just about snow; it is bringing a mix of catastrophic ice and bitterly cold air. Some areas are bracing for wind chills dropping as low as 40 degrees below zero.
Experts are seriously concerned about the potential damage, with some weather officials saying the impact could be as bad as a major hurricane. The combination of heavy snow and thick ice from east Texas to North Carolina is expected to make roads impassable and snap power lines.
The trouble has already started on the power grid. By Saturday morning, more than 95,000 outages were reported across the country, including 36,000 in Texas alone.
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In response to the growing danger, governors in over a dozen states have declared emergencies to free up resources and help communities prepare.
Officials are urging people to stay off the roads and stay indoors as the storm intensifies, warning that power could be out for days in the hardest-hit areas.
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