Winter Storm Fern live updates: Massive winter storm moves through US | Extreme weather
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Winter storm Fern triggered a buying spree across much of the United States ahead of its arrival.
Near-empty shelves were seen at grocery stores across the country on Thursday and Friday, echoing images of shoppers bulk-buying supplies at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the first few months of 2020.
Dharna Noor
This storm has the potential to cause long-term power outages, and these outages will likely be politicized.
When deadly winter storm Uri hit Texas in 2021, millions of people were left without power as the state’s grid collapsed due to increased demand. Republican politicians and fossil fuel allies were quick to blame clean energy for the disaster. But even though the storm damaged all energy supplies, widespread evidence (including a federal investigation) showed that the outages were primarily caused by the failure of gas infrastructure.
Experts have long warned that the climate crisis is making power outages more common in the U.S. as climate-driven extreme weather strains an already-taxed power grid. This issue is causing even more concern as fuel-guzzling data centers pop up across the United States.
Wind and solar power, the fastest-to-deploy energy sources, can help ensure Americans have stable power amid rising demand. But climate hawks may be quick to note that during looming power outages, Trump is blocking renewable energy projects by calling them “scams.”
Power outages across the country have already increased to nearly 85,000. Power Outage.us.
Texas is reporting the highest number of outages so far, with more than 43,000 homes and businesses affected.
Outages in Louisiana rose to more than 6,000. Arkansas surpassed 5,000 outages.
All other affected states still report fewer than 4,000 buildings without power.
So far, nearly 10,000 flights scheduled for the weekend have been canceled across the United States.
Delta Airlines He called out to the passengers. They traveled to reschedule their flights this weekend because the storm threatened to disrupt operations and cause widespread cancellations.
The airline said customers should expect flight cancellations in the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, including Nashville and Raleigh-Durham, as the storm threatens to disrupt weekend travel. They added that they expected “additional schedule adjustments for the Atlanta and northeast regions” on Saturday morning.
Delta on Thursday canceled flights at several airports in five states, warning that slow operations could trigger more delays and cancellations and make it harder to rebook during one of its busiest winter travel periods.
Airlines are encouraging passengers to monitor flight statuses closely and use mobile apps or airline websites for the fastest rebooking options as the storm progresses.
Donald Trump this morning sent On the Truth Social platform: “I have approved Emergency Declarations for Historic Winter Storms heading into the great State of South Carolina and the State of Virginia. With the help of FEMA and our State partners, we will keep everyone safe and ensure both States have the support they need. We will continue to monitor and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe and Stay Warm!”
On Friday morning, Trump posted: “Record cold wave expected to hit 40 states. Nothing like this has rarely been seen before. Can Environmental Rebels please explain – WHAT HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING?”
In reality, the climate crisis is causing greater instability in weather systems and patterns, disrupting the polar vortex and causing more extremes amid rapidly rising global temperatures. Arctic temperatures are spreading more frequently and persistently in parts of the United States unaccustomed to prolonged periods of bitterly cold weather.
Trump has long been skeptical of the climate crisis and, by distorting misinformation, has repeatedly pulled the United States back from domestic climate action and international agreements to curb global warming caused by anthropogenic emissions.
A state of emergency was declared in 16 states Including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Emergency declarations were also made in Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
New York added itself to the list later Friday, as did Arkansas, Kansas and Kentucky. Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency in the region.
Hello and welcome to our live blog post about the winter storm system currently moving across much of the midwestern and southern United States. My name is Marina Dunbar and I will bring you the latest news.
More than 220 million people are expected to be affected by the giant winter weather system, which formed in parts of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains and spread into the southern and midwestern regions starting Friday, spreading across the east coast on Saturday and as far north as Maine on Sunday. The storm was named Winter Storm Fern by the Weather Channel.
