America froze in the worst cold wave.
Three-quarters of the U.S. mainland (except Hawaii and Alaska) was covered in snow in the extreme cold in the Arctic, driven by a winter storm, and an alarm was issued for half of the Americans.
The cold wave has hit southern regions such as Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, where it is difficult to see snow, and the damage to people and property is growing like a snowball as a result of a massive blackout in the harsher cold than Alaska.
CNN broadcast on the 16th (local time), citing analysis data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), reported that 73% of the total area of the 48 states on the mainland was covered with snow.
This is the largest area of snow since 2003, which means three-quarters of the US mainland has been frozen.
There were only three states without snow: Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
The U.S. Meteorological Administration (NWS) predicts that the severe cold will continue until the 20th.
Currently, there are 150 million people in the area where the Winter Storm Alert has been issued, nearly half of the total population in the United States.
The Meteorological Administration warned, “It is surprising that the winter storm is raging at a very fast pace.” “This cold wave is creating a very dangerous situation.”
Seven states, including Texas, have declared an emergency, while Kansas has declared a disaster.
President Joe Biden has spoken on the phone with seven governors, including Texas, Louisiana, and Kentucky, and said he will actively support disaster response, including additional federal emergency resources.
According to the New York Times (NYT), at least 23 people have died from this cold wave so far.
In Houston, Texas, one homeless man died, and two died of carbon monoxide poisoning after staying for a long time in a garage with a car turned on to avoid the cold.
Houston police say they have received more than 90 calls per day reporting carbon monoxide poisoning.
In Portland, Oregon, four people died in a carbon monoxide suffocation accident.
Thirteen children in Fort Worth, Texas, were taken to hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning.
The hospital said the children inhaled poisonous gas while trying to heat their homes with propane gas, diesel generators and gas ovens.
In addition, a regrettable accident was followed in which a grandmother and three children in the Houston area, who were trembling in the cold due to a power outage, caught a fire while lighting a fireplace.
A Louisiana man died after slipping on an icy road and hitting his head. In Tennessee, a 10-year-old boy died in an icy pond.
In Kentucky and Texas, a total of 10 people have been killed and hundreds of people have been injured in a series of ice vehicle crashes to date.
In addition, a tornado created by a winter storm killed 3 people and injured 10 others in North Carolina.
CNN reported that the severe cold resulted in a massive power outage in 18 states, with power cuts to 5.5 million households in 18 states, as well as stopping power generation facilities.
Texas suffered the most damage with 4.3 million households, and more than 100,000 households each suffered power outages in Oregon, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
Some power companies have implemented circular power cuts to avoid the worst as demand for heating exploded.
Some residents have suffered double pain due to cuts in the water supply due to power cuts.
In Abilene, Texas, when water purification plants were shut down due to cold weather, water supplies to 123,000 residents were cut off, and 113 water pipes were destroyed in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Cold weather and power outages caused significant disruptions to the Corona 19 vaccination.
The states of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi have decided to close some vaccination stations or not accept appointments for the time being until the cold is relieved.
Wal-Mart, a large retail chain, has closed more than 500 stores due to this cold wave, Reuters reported.
Automaker GM has shut down its factories in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Texas that produce pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs), and Ford has also closed its Kansas City plants, where pickup trucks are assembled.
Nissan has shut down four plants in Mississippi and Tennessee, and Toyota has shut down plants in six states, including Kentucky and Indiana.
Meteorologist Tyler Maldin said, “I am confident that this cold wave will be the first $1 billion (1.2 trillion won) meteorological disaster this year.”
This extreme cold originated from the polar vortex.
Microswirls, a clump of cold, dry air, are trapped in the Arctic because of the usual jet stream.
However, as the jet stream weakened due to the warming of the Arctic due to climate change, a whirlwind bearing cold air came southward, bringing cold waves across the United States.
“This cold wave is related to climate change,” said meteorologist Brandon Miller. “Because the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet.”
CNN broadcast reported that the record for the lowest temperature in over 2,000 places in the United States has been broken over the past week.
In Yumae, Colorado, -41 degrees Celsius, and Norton, Kansas, filmed 31 degrees Celsius.
Oklahoma City went down to -24 degrees Celsius.
It was a cold wave in 122 years after 1899.
In particular, in southern regions such as Texas and Arkansas, a record cold of’Bilo Zero’ (below 0 degrees Fahrenheit and below minus 17.7 degrees Celsius) has hit the ground.
Dallas, Texas, experienced the worst cold wave in 91 years since 1930, reaching minus 18.8 degrees.
Houston, Texas, and Little Rock, Arkansas, had their lowest -10 and -18 degrees respectively since 1989.
The U.S. Meteorological Agency says the lowest temperatures in Texas, Arkansas, and parts of Oklahoma were lower than in Fairbanks, Alaska, at -16 degrees Celsius.
NOAA said, “This cold wave will result in a record cold comparable to the historic cold of February 1899 and February 1905.”
(Photo = Getty Image Korea)