Cold weather from the North Pole has caused the state of southern Texas to experience lower temperatures than parts of Alaska. The darker the blue, the lower the temperature, and the darker the red, the higher the temperature. NASA
Record cold waves and snow storms hit the southern states of Texas, leading to massive blackouts. In Texas, people are suffering one after another as abnormal low temperatures occur, which is colder than in Alaska, the northernmost part of the United States.
The map data released by NASA on the 17th reveals the power of a cold wave from the Arctic. As of the 15th, the air temperature at a height of 2 meters above the ground is displayed on the map, and the cold from the Arctic extends through Canada to southern Texas. The darkest blue area is -35 degrees, and white is around 0 degrees.
In particular, the Texas region recorded cooler temperatures than some of Alaska, marked in white. On that day, Dallas, Texas, fell to -16 degrees, making it the coldest day since 1989.
“It should be noted that some areas of Texas are colder than Maine and even Alaska,” said NASA.
Trees frozen as a cold wave hit the Texas area. AP=Yonhap News
Heavy snow poured into the southern regions of the United States, where it was hard to see snow from this cold wave. According to foreign media such as CNN, as a result of an analysis by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on the 16th, 73% of the total area of the 48 states of the US mainland was covered in snow. This is the largest snowfall since 2003, which means that three-quarters of the US mainland has frozen. There were only three states in the southeastern United States, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
The US Meteorological Administration warned, “It is surprising that the winter storm is raging at a very fast rate,” and “this cold wave is creating a very dangerous situation.” Seven states, including Texas, have declared an emergency.
Power generation facilities stopped due to a blizzard… The city lights went out
Damage is also continuing throughout the United States due to the record cold wave. According to the New York Times (NYT), at least 23 people have been confirmed to have died in the current cold wave. In the southern Kentucky and Texas regions of the United States, a car crash caused by an ice road killed 10 people and injured hundreds.
A large-scale power outage also erupted as power generation facilities were shut down, such as wind turbines freezing due to the severe cold and snowstorms. A satellite image taken by NASA around 1 am on the 16th shows that the area of Houston, Texas, which had been full of lights 9 days ago, was noticeably darkened by a power outage.
According to local media, 4 million homes across Texas, including 1.4 million homes in the Houston area, suffered power outages that day. Residents, whose heating was difficult due to power outages, had to endure the cold with blankets covered in their homes.
Snow is piled up at the Athens Parthenon due to heavy snowfall in Greece on the 16th. AFP=Yonhap News
In Europe, abnormal climates have also occurred due to the cold wave from the Arctic. In southern Europe, Greece, where snow is difficult to see even in winter, heavy snow fell in 12 years. As a result, the ancient Acropolis of Athens, the capital city, was covered with snow, creating a unique landscape.
The cold air that was trapped in the Arctic due to climate change comes down
Local media analyzed that the cold was caused by the fall of the Polar Votex, which was trapped in the polar region.
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, the whirlpools descended south, bringing cold waves to various parts of the northern hemisphere, including the United States and Europe.
“This cold wave is related to climate change,” said meteorologist Brandon Miller. “This is because the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet.”
Reporter Chun Kwon-pil [email protected]