As predicted, a huge winter storm has left tens of thousands across the south without electricity and placed layers of ice on trees and power lines.
The storm system is now bearing down on the northeast, potentially bringing a foot and a half of snow to Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
North Carolina officials reported scenes similar to two weeks earlier in Atlanta where drivers abandoned vehicles on roads so coated with ice that they were unable to continue driving. Commutes that normally lasted a few minutes were taking hours. Police across the region reported thousands of car accidents.
At least 14 people have been killed in incidents related to the storm. A teenager in Atlanta barely escaped being a victim when a tree quickly fell just feet from where he was standing.
The weather was so bad in parts of north Georgia that the Oconee County Sheriff declared Valentine’s Day to be canceled so men did not go outside to try and buy gifts for their wives.
The second winter storm in two weeks is likely to bring “crippling ice totals” to Atlanta and parts of the east coast Wednesday.
The National Weather Service said some areas could end up with 18 inches of precipitation as a result of Winter Storm Pax. While most of the Carolinas will receive snow, Georgia officials are preparing for up to an inch of ice.
Over 86,000 residents in the southeast have already lost power because of the storm and tens of thousands likely will lose power before the end of the day Wednesday.
Seven deaths have been directly attributed to the storm. Over 75 percent of the flights from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport were canceled due to the weather. The number is expected to climb through the day Wednesday.
Alabama and Georgia were under states of emergency because of the storm. Alabama officials reported ice starting to build up on vehicles and power lines early Wednesday morning as the storm moves east. In some parts of Georgia, a half inch of ice has already accumulated on trees and power lines before the bulk of the storm.
National Guard troops in Georgia are on stand by to evacuate nursing homes or hospitals if power lines go down. Georgia officials say it’s possible to have “catastrophic” problems with the power grid.
It’s been over 20 years since the biggest of the Great Lakes completely froze. Now, experts watching Lake Superior say it’s likely that the current cold freeze will bring a total freezing of the lake after closing in on a 20-year record.
The ice cover on the lake reached 91 percent coverage on February 5, 1994, the record during the last 20 years. Jay Austin of the Large Lakes Observatory in Duluth, Minnesota, says it won’t be long until that record falls.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration says the average depth of ice on the lake is 10 inches. On February 10th, all the Great Lakes were 80.4 percent covered in ice compared to 38.4 percent last year.
Austin says that the extraordinary cold winter, that included Duluth breaking an all-time record with 23 straight days below zero, will have a strong influence on the region’s weather this year.
“Typically, the lake will start warming up in late June,” Austin told CNS News. “It will be August before we see that this year.”
Austin said the “air conditioning (lake) effect” would be stronger than usual, keeping temperatures down well into the summer.
With propane prices rising and temperatures falling, thousands of people in South Dakota are worried that they won’t be able to heat their homes.
“If you think about 57,000 households in South Dakota or about 70 percent of people in the state who use propane for heating, that’s a real impact on our state,” said Senator John Thune.
Senator Thune has been working hard for relief aid from the federal government, including sending a personal letter to President Obama.
Until federal aid arrives, the Red Cross has stepped in, providing residents in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe with warm places to stay, hot meals, and extra supplies.
“…our concern was making sure they had a warm, safe place to be and that they had safe food to eat while they were waiting for the cold to break or to get propane resupplied at their homes,” said Dan Kuecker, the Disaster Program Manager for Western South Dakota for the American Red Cross.
The second major winter storm to roar through the south in less than two weeks is shutting down schools, airports and highways.
The National Weather Service described the storm as potentially being a “catastrophic event” that could bring record weather events. Schools across Georgia called off classes for Tuesday before any show fell and likely will continue the postponements as forecasts call for sleet and freezing rain through Wednesday.
Atlanta, which was paralyzed by the previous storm, took to the roads to pre-treat them ahead of potential icing. The National Guard has 1,400 four-wheel drive vehicles on stand by to help any stranded motorists in the area.
Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for part of the state Monday.
Over 1,100 flights were canceled by Tuesday morning and another 2,600 were delayed because of the weather. The number is expected to jump significantly over the next 48 hours.
Political observers say the storm could be a potential catastrophe for the Republican governor who is up for re-election and saw a hit to his approval ratings after the botched snow removal efforts during the last storm.
The worst snowfall to hit Tokyo in decades caused major disruptions to power, thousands of injuries and at least 11 deaths.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency said over 10.6 inches of snow fell by late Saturday, the most to fall on the city in 45 years. Commuters on Monday morning found that most roads had not been plowed and many areas outside the downtown area were impassable from blowing snow.
Flights at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport were cancelled or backed up with remaining flights overbooked with people attempting to leave. Officials said at least 5,000 people were stuck at the airport.
Power was out for over 20,000 households.
Officials say 11 people died from car accidents or falls. At least one man was reported in critical condition after falling after he slipped while shoveling snow. Officials did not say how many of the 1,000 reported injuries required a hospital stay.
In the northern part of the country, the city of Sendai which had been partially devastated by the 2011 tsunami recorded almost 14 inches of snow, the highest level in 78 years.
Temperatures were stuck in the teens. Snow and ice were on the ground. Residents in many parts of Jacksboro, Texas were stuck in their homes.
So Texas Gas Service shut off the gas supply to the entire town.
The company blames liquid that somehow made its way into the gas lines from their natural gas supplier.
City manager Mike Smith said the gas service was repeatedly turning on and off early Thursday morning meaning the pilot lights in various homes and businesses were shutting off, potentially filling the homes with gas.
The city set up emergency shelters at the Jack City Fair Barn and activity center. Electric heaters in the city are sold out and some people are using their ovens to heat their homes.
The city’s fire department is preparing for home fires and possible explosions from built up gas.
In the midst of a bitter cold winter across the country, power operators are calling for voluntary conservation and the turning down of thermostats to protect natural gas levels.
In California, the issue is so severe that operators took the very unusual step of issuing a “Flex Alert” during the winter to ask people to conserve their uses of utilities. A “Flex Alert” is usually sent in the summer when the temperatures are so high that air conditioner use strains the electrical grid.
In the Midwest, the gas shortage is driving prices to levels 33% or more higher than normal for this time of year. One resident in St. Louis says they’re taking steps to keep their thermostats significantly lower after a delivery of 200 gallons of propane, which usually costs around $600, cost him $1,200.
Several U.S. Senators are demanding that federal consumer protection agencies look into the severe price fluctuations that are causing Americans to shut off their gas and heat out of fear of price spikes.
North Dakota authorities are investigating the death of woman who was found in her home with an empty propane tank.
Debbie Dogskin’s body was discovered Tuesday morning at her Fort Yates home located on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
Temperatures on the reservation dropped to 1 degree below zero overnight according to Sioux County Sheriff Frank Landeis.
Autopsy results are expected today, but Landeis believes Dogskin “froze to death.”
Tribal officials have declared a state of emergency due to about 5,000 homes on the reservation are heated by propane. According to Tribal Chairman, Dave Archambault II, many residents are struggling to afford the more expensive fuel due to the high prices.
Due to the nationwide propane shortage, the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) asked the federal energy regulator to order more supplies to create more propane. The additional orders will come from an Enterprise Product Partners Pipeline.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stated in a notice that the association asked Enterprise, one of the biggest suppliers of propane in the country, to supply 75,000 barrel per day (bpd) of propane along its TE Products pipeline running from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast. Service will start immediately until the end of the first week of March.
“NPGA submits that due to unique weather and other circumstances beyond control of shipers, propane supplies throughout the country, particularly the Midwest and Northeast, have reached dangerously low levels,” the FERC notice said.
Millions of Americans throughout the Northeast and Midwest have suffered from the shortage during this record breaking cold winter season.
