Tens of millions of Americans endured freezing temperatures, blizzard conditions, electricity outages, and canceled holiday gatherings Friday from a massive winter storm that forecasters said was nearly unprecedented in its scope, exposing nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population to a winter weather advisory or warning. With a column of bitter cold that stretched from Texas to Montana beginning to move eastward, more than 240 million people were under some sort of winter weather advisory Friday. The National Weather Service (NWS) said its map "depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever." Hard-freeze warnings were posted in part of the southern states of Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. At one point Friday morning, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast was far colder than the northeastern states. The lowest temperature in the lower 48 states on Frida morning was minus 38 degrees Celsius recorded in Havre, Montana. But the freeze in the southern states could prove to be a bigger public safety threat, as those regions are unaccustomed to cold and snow. The huge storm stretched from border to border. In Canada, an airline canceled all flights Friday at Toronto's international airport. In Mexico, migrants waited near the U.S. border in unusually cold temperatures below minus 12 degrees Celsius. Forecasters said a "bomb cyclone"—when atmospheric pressure drops rapidly in a strong storm—developed in the Great Lakes region, stirring blizzard conditions. It could drop 89 centimeters of snow in Buffalo, New York; 33 centimeters in Kalamazoo, Michigan; and 43 centimeters in Erie, Pennsylvania, NWS meteorologist Ashton Cook said. About 1.4 million homes and businesses were without electricity Friday morning, and nearly 3,900 flights within, into, or out of the United States were canceled Friday, causing more mayhem as people travel for the holidays. The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimated that 112.7 million people planned to travel 80 kilometers or more from home between Friday and January 2, up 3.6 million travelers over last year and nearing pre-pandemic levels. But that figure was likely to be diminished by the dangerous weather complicating air and road travel heading into the weekend. "If there's any good news, it's that the storm has moved quickly over some areas," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told MSNBC on Friday. He said many airports, such as in Denver, Colorado, "will be able to get back on their feet quickly" after a wave of cancellations and delays, with other major hubs like Chicago possibly recovering later Friday.
