Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/MARYLAND: The main heavy winter storm battered the upper Midwest and Northern Plains with high winds and heavy snow on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of thousands of schools to close, grounding air travel, and making road journeys difficult, if not impossible in some US areas.
The National Weather Service said that over 50 million Americans were under winter weather advisories on Wednesday morning as the storm moved across a wide swath of the northern and western United Stated and into the East. Up to 2 feet of heavy snow and winds of up to 60 miles an hour were expected in some spots during the day and into Thursday.
Heavy snow in Maryland
In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, some 17 inches of snow, wind gusts up to 45 mph, and temperatures hovering around ten degrees Fahrenheit punished those going about their daily routines, Reuters said.
“It’s cold, but people still want their eggs and coffee,” said Bre Bethke, 37, a manager at MB Haskett Delicatessen, after being blasted by the fierce freeze weather each time she opened the drive-through window for a waiting customer. “Our regular want to come here and get out of the freezing cold. But not today, no way. This is too much.”
The storm pounded California and brought a mix of snow and sleet to the East, including New England, where forecasters warned motorists to beware of slick roads. Frank Pereira said that a forecaster with the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. Snow-covered roads also would make travel treacherous in the Upper Midwest, and the ice-covered power lines and falling trees could cause power outages late on Wednesday and into Thursday.
