Massive Winter Storm Knocks Out Power To 1.2 Million, Cancels Flights

ACROSS AMERICA — Millions of homes and businesses were without power, and thousands of flights were canceled as a massive winter storm brought blizzard conditions and frigid temperatures to much of the United States on Friday.

According to the National Weather Service, about 200 million people — more than half the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. The weather service's map "depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever," forecasters said in a statement Friday.

Meanwhile, bitterly cold air is bringing drastic temperature drops to numerous parts of the country. Governors in more than a dozen states have put in place emergency measures and cold weather protocols, according to CNN, as more than half the country hunkers down amid wind chill alerts.

"This is not like a snow day when you were a kid," President Joe Biden warned Thursday in the Oval Office after a briefing from federal officials. "This is serious stuff."

Millions Without Power

More than 1.2 million people across the United States were without power Friday morning, according to poweroutage.us. Most outages were reported in states on the East Coast and the south.

Power outages will likely continue to increase throughout the day.

• More Than 91k Without Power In CT: Town-By-Town Outages
• VA Winter Storm: Temperatures To Nosedive, Power Outages, 48MPH Winds
• MD Winter Storm: Temperatures To Plunge, Power Outages, 48MPH Winds

Flights Canceled

The massive storm is also affecting flights across the country, forcing holiday travelers to alter or cancel plans altogether. More than 3,700 flights within, into, or out of the United States were canceled Friday, according to the tracking site FlightAware.com. Meanwhile, nearly 14,000 flights were delayed.

Just one runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was open after runways were closed "indefinitely" as the airport worked to de-ice surfaces, the airport said. The closure resulted in nearly 450 canceled flights Friday.

More than 500 flights out of O'Hare International and Midway airports were canceled Friday as wind chills dropped to nearly 35 degrees below zero overnight in the Chicago area.

In other parts of the country, officials banned non-essential travel on state roadways while others prohibited commercial traffic on entire portions of interstate, CNN reported. Several major highways in the Midwest were also closed Friday, according to Accuweather.com.

• More Than 500 O'Hare, Midway Flights Canceled Due To Winter Storm
• Michigan Winter Storm: Power Outages, Travel Delays
• Arctic Front Nears Philly Area As Travel Conditions Deteriorate
• Airlines Offer Winter Weather Waivers Ahead Of Bomb Cyclone System
  

Storm Moves East

Forecasters are expecting a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — to develop near the Great Lakes before moving into northern New York state and northern New England. That will stir up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.

In snowy Buffalo, New York, forecasters predicted a "once-in-a-generation storm" because of heavy lake-effect snow, wind gusts as high as 65 mph, whiteouts, and the potential for extensive power outages.

Arctic air and dangerous wind chill values will continue for most of the eastern two-thirds of the country into the holiday weekend, according to the National Weather Service. At the same time, temperatures will begin to rebound across the Northern Rockies and High Plains this weekend.

In the Pacific Northwest, a wintry mixture will continue to create difficult traveling conditions.

Meanwhile, AccuWeather forecasters say that long-standing temperature records could be shattered this weekend as temperatures continue to drop to dangerously low levels.

The coldest Christmas on record for the nation occurred in 1983. A 10-day Arctic invasion from Dec. 16, 1983, to the day after Christmas brought the lowest temperatures of the month to the entire country, Accuweather reported. Temperatures averaged around 20 degrees.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.