As many as 14 US states, with more than 60 million residents, have been warned of a powerful snowstorm sweeping through the north-eastern US. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that the snowstorm will result in “significant impact including travel disruptions and power outages” in the worst-affected areas.
“Some of the heaviest snowfall associated with the winter storm impacting the Northeast will fall tonight,” the NWS tweeted.
The NWS predicted that residents across central Pennsylvania and south-central New York State will wake up to one to two feet of snow. The weather forecasting agency also said that over six inches of snow are likely across the mountainous regions of Utah, Wyoming, and western Colorado. US transportation secretary Elaine Chao has urged people to check with their local transportation officials and weather resources for the latest travel conditions.
“For those in the path of today’s winter storm, know what’s expected for your area and don’t drive in dangerous conditions! Check with your local transportation officials and weather resources for the latest travel conditions,” Chao tweeted.New York mayor Bill de Blasio has warned that the storm could be the biggest the city has seen in years, urging people to use public transportation in case of emergency travel. The extreme weather condition has also become a matter of concern for the vaccine distribution process as the United States rolled out Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, earlier this week, for health care workers and people at high risk. Health secretary Alex Azar said that the government is following the situation.“We have prepositioned Centres for Disease Control and Prevention people at each place receiving people. This is FedEx, this is UPS express shipping – they know how to deal with snow and bad weather, but we are on it and following it,” Azar told Fox News in an interview.
