NEW YORK, Dec 28 (NNN-XINHUA) — A strong winter storm slammed across the US Northeast and Great Lakes regions from Friday evening to Saturday, dumping snow, crippling holiday travel and leaving tens of thousands out of power.
As of 2 pm Eastern Time on Saturday, more than 5,580 flights within, to or out of the United States were delayed and at least 860 were canceled, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.
Flight delays and cancellations piled up due to severe weather, with three major airports in the New York metropolitan area among the hardest hit.
The Federal Aviation Administration estimated that flights to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport were delayed by an average of about two hours Saturday morning.
Winter storm alerts covered areas from New York to Philadelphia, with travelers and residents warned to exercise caution from the storm.
The powerful storm came ahead of the busiest travel day of the holiday season, with 2.86 million travelers expected to fly on Sunday, according to data from the Transportation Security Administration.
Ahead of the major winter storm, the governors of New York and New Jersey declared a state of emergency, urging travelers to monitor weather conditions and road closures and follow safety protocols.
In Michigan, more than 30,000 homes and businesses were without power Saturday morning as ice weighed on trees and power lines.
U.S. weather authorities issued and later lifted a tornado warning in parts of California on Friday, highlighting unusually unstable atmospheric conditions as powerful storms continued to bring flooding, high surf and heavy snow across the state.
The storm system, driven by an atmospheric river, has caused at least four deaths and widespread damage since last weekend, officials said.
The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office in San Francisco said a Flood Watch was extended through 10 p.m. Friday (0600 GMT Saturday) for parts of the Bay Area and Central Coast, warning of rapid rises in creeks and localized flooding. A High Surf Advisory was also in effect through 10 p.m. Friday, with breaking waves up to about 7.6 meters.
A tornado risk has attracted attention after the NWS issued and later canceled a tornado warning for Santa Cruz County on Christmas Day, local media reported, describing it as a rare warning for the region.
Meanwhile, Southern California recorded unusually heavy rainfall. Downtown Los Angeles received 6.6 centimeters of rain from Christmas Eve through midday Christmas Day, making it the wettest Dec. 24-25 period since 1971, the NWS said.
In the Sierra Nevada, the storm dumped massive snowfall, with the University of California, Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab reporting about 60 centimeters of snow within 24 hours.
Strong winds caused notable damage at the historic Lick Observatory near San Jose, where gusts tore part of a 137-year-old telescope dome from its structure.
Power disruptions remained a significant operational challenge. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) said that ahead of the storm sequence, more than 5,500 frontline coworkers and contractors would be on storm duty.
Weather experts warned that the most serious risks stem from flash flooding, debris flows and mudslides, particularly in Southern California’s steep terrain.
Looking beyond California, winter storm warnings and difficult travel conditions extended into nearby high-elevation areas in the broader region, according to NWS offices serving the Sierra and adjacent interior West. — NNN-XINHUA