A wave of severe winter weather has swept across the United States, putting about 40 states on alert and potentially affecting up to 150 million people by Sunday, according to weather forecasts. Extreme temperatures have plunged to record lows, with -23 degrees Celsius in New York and as low as -46°C in the country's Northern Plains.
Heavy snowfall was recorded in northwest Texas and Oklahoma, where about 24 homes were left without power due to severe weather conditions. In Chicago, temperatures dropped to -27°C, raising concerns for the safety and health of residents.

At least 12 states have declared states of emergency by governors, including Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina. In some areas, the National Guard has been put on standby to help local authorities deal with the emergency. The extreme weather has also caused chaos in air travel. More than 10 flights have been canceled across the country, with Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, one of the busiest in the US, among the hardest hit, with more than 1,200 flights canceled to and from the weekend.


New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the state has mobilized more than 1,600 snowplows and 114 tons of salt to deal with the storm. She warned that “there will be no corner of the state that will not be affected by Mother Nature’s wrath.” According to Jacob Asherman, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, if the effect of extreme cold is included, the total number of people affected could reach up to 220 million. “This is a storm that will be remembered for years,” Caitlin Dirks, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said Friday, calling the phenomenon historic because of the extensive ice sheets that are expected to cause serious damage to infrastructure. The intensity of the bad weather is also reflected in images from many cities, where numerous citizens have been seen queuing outside stores to secure basic supplies, while shelves are rapidly emptying.

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