Khaberni - The fierce cold wave continues today, Monday, sweeping across most parts of the United States, under the "storm Fern" snowstorm described as one of the most severe in recent decades, which has so far resulted in the death of at least 21 people, besides power outages affecting more than 800 thousand homes.
In the Great Lakes region of northern United States, temperatures have dropped to extremely low levels, falling below 20 degrees Celsius below zero, reaching less than 30 degrees below zero in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service.
The agency expects the freezing wave to worsen in the coming days under the influence of a polar air mass, especially in the central regions, where wind chill temperatures are expected to drop to around 45 degrees Celsius below zero.
Heavy snowfall, exceeding 30 centimeters in about 20 states, has caused widespread damage to power networks. According to the specialized site "Power Outage," more than 820 thousand subscribers were without electricity on Monday morning, especially in the southern United States, where ice caused power lines to fall.
Power was cut off for about 250,000 people in Tennessee, and more than 150,000 in Mississippi, amid warnings that the crisis could continue for additional days.
Storm Effects
The French Press Agency quoted meteorologist Allison Santorelli as saying, "Power outages could last several days, while authorities face significant difficulties recovering from the storm's effects, especially since many of these areas are not accustomed to such conditions and lack sufficient resources for snow and damage removal."
The storm was accompanied by ice accumulations described as potentially "catastrophic," according to the Meteorological Agency, while American media confirmed the death of at least 21 people due to accidents and the severe cold.
In Texas, authorities announced the death of 3 people, including a 16-year-old girl who died in a skiing accident, while two people died from hypothermia in Louisiana, and another person died in a collision in Iowa.
State of Emergency
In New York, the city's mayor, Zahran Mamdani, announced the discovery of 5 deceased individuals outdoors over the weekend, noting that the incident is a "harsh reminder of the dangers of extreme cold and the vulnerability of the weakest groups, especially the homeless."
A state of emergency was declared in about 20 states, in addition to the capital, Washington, while transportation was broadly paralyzed. Flights at major airports in Washington, Philadelphia, and New York were almost completely halted, with more than 19,000 cancellations since Saturday and thousands more delays, according to the site "Flight Aware."
Commenting on the Fern storm, U.S. President Donald Trump used the weather conditions to renew his criticisms regarding global warming and climate change, writing in a post on Truth Social, "Can the environmental advocates explain to me: what happened to global warming?"
The Fern snowstorm is associated with what is known as the "polar vortex," a severely cold air mass that usually rotates over the North Pole but has unusually extended southward.
Scientists believe the increasing frequency of these disturbances may be linked to climate change, despite the ongoing scientific debate about the extent of this connection and the role of natural variations.
