Declared a state of emergency in New York
New York State takes measures to overcome the storm “Elliot” with the governor declaring an emergency. The storm affects more than half of the US population
Yesterday, the authorities of the state of New York decreed a state of emergency throughout its territory due to the impact that storm “Elliot” is having, described by the National Weather Service as “once in a generation,” as it passed through the northwestern region of the United States.
Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York, lamented the difficulties on such important dates that the storm is leaving the New York region: “Heavy rain and snow, strong winds, coastal and lakeshore flooding and flash freezing are all possible in various regions across the state throughout the holiday weekend,” she said. “With Mother Nature throwing everything she has at us this weekend, I encourage New Yorkers who are considering traveling for the holidays to do so before Friday or after Sunday to stay safe.”
Authorities recommend not to travel
The New York authorities have asked their citizens not to travel due to the state of the roads: “The roads are going to be like an ice skating rink. That creates incredibly dangerous conditions,” warns the governor. Due to the low temperatures after the rain, ice forms quickly and this prevents the snowplows and salt machines from doing their job.
It is estimated that more than 100,000 homes will lose electricity in the state, in addition to severe coastal flooding in which emergency services have already had to intervene to rescue some stragglers among the floods.
Storm "Elliot", classified as a "bomb cyclone"
The strong impact of this storm is due to the sudden drop in temperatures. Air pressure dropped sharply during Friday afternoon as Storm “Elliot” acquired “bomb cyclone” status. Alex Sosnowski, meteorologist for AccuWeather, explains that “all storms are cyclones, and genesis means creation or beginning. In this case, bomb refers to explosive development. Collectively, the term means explosive storm strengthening”.
Affects on the rest of the US and its borders
The winter storm is also affecting the rest of the US, as well as the borders with Mexico and Canada, to the south and north of the country respectively. The heaviest snowfall is occurring in the Great Lakes region of the northern US.
American society is suffering the impact of this storm directly in its daily routine. According to PowerOutage.us, more than 1.4 million Americans are currently without power, and more than 4,500 flights have been canceled according to FlightAware data. The impact of “Elliot” is expected to worsen, since according to the National Weather Service, the storm has affected and will affect 240 million people, which is equivalent to more than 70% of the US population.