Winter storm Landon sparks deadly tornado in Alabama as Texas drivers stranded and 4,000 flights canceled across US
THOUSANDS of flights have been canceled and at least 200,000 are without power as winter storm Landon continues to wreak havoc across the US.
The wild weather sparked a deadly tornado in Alabama on Thursday and dozens of motorists were left stranded on Interstate 10 as bone-chilling temperatures of 19F hit Texas.
More than 130,000 and 80,000 outages have been reported in Tennessee and Ohio as of 11am EST on Friday, according to PowerOutage US.
While, around 50,000 customers are without electricity in New York- the most affected county being UIster.
National Weather Service forecasters issued a Winter Weather Advisory for New York City which is in place until 7pm today.
Some parts of the state could get more than a tenth of an inch of ice, making the roads treacherous.
Forecasters said heavy ice buildup is likely from Pennsylvania to New England.
A foot of snow is expected to fall in northern New York and parts of New England.
Temperatures in New York could plunge to around 24F today, while in Boston, the mercury could hit lows of 22F with feel-like temperatures hovering just above 10F.
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NWS meteorologist Rick Otto said the snow and ice will “linger” because of the frigid temperatures.
More than 4,000 flights within, into, or out of the US were axed on Thursday, according to FlightAware data. It was the highest daily count of the year so far.
Read our Winter Storm live blog for the very latest news and updates…
And, more than 9,000 flights that were scheduled for Thursday and Friday had been canceled.
Southwest Airlines axed 30 percent of its flights while American Airlines canceled around a quarter of its flights – more than 800.
American Airlines spokesperson Curtis Blessing said the storm is having a “significant impact”, particularly in the northeastern and central parts of the country.
Jackie Custard-Jarosz, from Buffalo, was supposed to fly to Vegas with her mom and sister but her flight was axed.
Family members were left heartbroken by the cancelation.
TRAVEL CHAOS
Jackie told USA Today: “My sister’s upset. She’s a nurse, she works overnights, so she’s just been working her tail off throughout the last few months. She’s ready for a break.
“Everybody needs a break from everything that’s been going on, but we’ll just have to stick it out a little longer.”
Drivers were trapped in their cars for hours as Interstate 10 in Kerrville came to a standstill.
Temperatures plunged to 19 degrees overnight on Thursday as motorists tried to keep warm.
Cops said an 18-wheeler was jackknifed blocking traffic, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said: “The roads are still glazed. Like a doughnut.”
Landon could bring particularly strong thunderstorms in parts of Mississippi and Alabama.
One person was killed as the twister ripped through Hale County, Alabama.
‘GLAZED LIKE A DOUGHNUT’
The NWS had issued warnings and said the storm that was heading towards Birmingham had a “history of producing tornadoes”.
Americans were urged to take shelter as the twister barrelled through, AL.com reports.
Hale County EMA director Russell Weeden said three people suffered critical injuries while five others had minor wounds.
And, the tornado caused a mobile home to flip in Sawyerville.
Tornadoes are possible albeit unusual in the winter.
A 16-vehicle pileup in Memphis saw six people taken to hospital. Two were critically injured while four suffered non-critical injuries, Fox23 reports.
Thousands of Texans were left without power Thursday.
The cold snap came almost a year after thousands were left freezing for weeks after snowstorms knocked out the electricity.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned earlier this week that ‘no one can guarantee that there won’t be any’ blackouts caused by demand for electricity.
In November, the Republican told Austin TV station KTBC: “I can guarantee the lights will stay on.”
He added: “Listen very confident about the grid and I can tell you why for one I signed almost a dozen laws that make (the) power grid more effective.”
The storm was named winter storm Landon by The Weather Channel based on alphabetical order and specific criteria
Winter storm names exclude any current Atlantic and eastern Pacific hurricane names on the National Hurricane Center lists for the next six years and any retired hurricane names.
The next storm after Landon will be Miles.
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