Southeast power outages: Winter Storm Fern’s impact
Winter Storm Fern has wreaked havoc across the Southeast and Lower Midwest and is poised to complete its sweep of the Northeast by the end of the day. Accordingly ABC NewsSnowfall totals reached 8 inches in Arkansas, 11 inches in Illinois and Ohio, 13 inches in Indiana, 8 inches in Kansas, 12 inches in Missouri, 7 inches in Oklahoma, 6 inches in Texas and 5 inches in Tennessee. Ice storm warnings remain in effect from Texas to Tennessee and Georgia to the Carolinas.
At the time of this post, the storm is expected to deliver up to an inch of snow per hour along the I-95 corridor in the Northeast Sunday afternoon and evening. Major airports have already suspended flights, with more than 14,000 cancellations due to the storm. John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports in the New York City area were closed, as well as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.
Atlanta, Charlotte and Dallas-Fort Worth continue to operate but are experiencing significant delays and are on hold for potential stoppages.
Port terminals in New York and New Jersey are closed and will remain closed as the storm moves through the region. Major load centers Disruptions are also occurring in Louisville, Cincinnati and Memphis, causing customers to closely monitor tracking information for the most accurate updates.
As the Northeast braces for heavy snowfall, Winter Storm Fern is slowly winding down in the Southeast, where more than a million people were without power at the time of publication. ABC News reports It is stated that Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and Texas are the most affected and the places where the most outages are experienced.
Amtrak postponed operations until Monday. BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern have also activated winter action plans. According to Reuters“BNSF warned customers moving freight from storm-affected areas to expect delays and longer transit times, saying shipments may temporarily take substandard routes, travel through unusual locations or encounter unusual changes during the outage.”
The toughest phase of the storm may come after the snow and ice fall. In an interview with FreightWaves, DTN Renny Vandewege, General Manager of Weather and Climate Intelligence, explained why delays could last longer than usual in the South. “There aren’t a lot of resources for post-storm cleanup in the Southeast,” Vandewege said. “It will kind of be up to nature to help with the cleanup. Priority will be given to what resources are available for high-traffic areas like interstates and then state highways. The quickest way to clear ice and snow is for temperatures to get above freezing, and unfortunately that may take a while. The cold will linger for several days after the storm.”
Historically, winter storms in the Southeast are short-lived; temperatures warm quickly, allowing conditions to improve. However, this time, a prolonged cold may cause prolonged disruptions. “The biggest impact will come from ice and snow melting during the day, followed by below-freezing temperatures at night,” Vandewege said. “That’s when refreezing and black ice become major issues.”
Due to widespread power outages in the area, recovery from Winter Storm Fern is unlikely to be limited to deliveries being delayed by a day or two. In some areas, it may take weeks for operations to come fully online.
Vandewege emphasized the importance of contingency planning and noted that many carriers and shippers are already taking proactive steps. “Our best practice is to set standard operating procedures based on estimates,” he said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry, it depends on your ability to deal with the incoming weather conditions.” Even small amounts of snowfall can have huge impacts in the Southeast, where five inches of snow poses a much different challenge than in the Northeast.
Post Southeast power outages: Impact of Winter Storm Fern appeared for the first time Charge Waves.
