A powerful icy storm system is sweeping
across the US, resulting in temperatures
dropping to -29C and lower as well as
deaths, power cuts and massive travel
disruption.
A severe winter storm warning has been
issued by the Government's National
Weather Service, and forecasters say the
storm is heading for Virginia and the Mid-
Atlantic next.
Yesterday, the mercury dropped to -29C in
Montana and South Dakota during the day,
while officials have warned residents in
northwest Minnesota to brace for
temperatures as low as -45C with the
impact of wind chill.
What was described as a "complex winter
storm" affected much of the central and
eastern parts of the country this weekend,
and the storm warning was due to remain
in place until 10am EST (3pm GMT) on
Monday in some areas.
Meanwhile, the NWS also issued a "hard
freeze warning" for large parts of the
Midwest, and freeze warnings for the west
coast.
Four people have died in the San Francisco
Bay area of California as a result of
hypothermia, and at least six deaths in
traffic-related incidents were blamed on the
severe weather across several states.
One person died in North Texas after a pick-
up truck lost control on an icy bridge.
In Virginia, state Emergency Management
spokeswoman Laura Southard said the
storm had the potential to be a "historic ice
event".
"This forecast is very concerning to us," Ms
Southard said yesterday. "I've worked
multiple disasters, but I've never worked an
ice storm with a forecast like this. It's just
really important for everybody to take extra
precautions."
Among the road closures yesterday were
Interstate 35, north of Dallas, Texas, where
treacherous conditions had seen crashes and
vehicles struggling to climb hills. About
75,000 homes in the Dallas area were
without power on Saturday, down from a
peak of more than 270,000.
The ice storm has forced the cancellation of
a number of large annual events, including
today's Dallas Marathon, which was
expected to draw 25,000 runners, and the
St. Jude Marathon in Memphis, expected to
see 20,000 people competing.
