U.S.

Winter havoc with storms and snow

Leaning in for a quick kiss in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, during a snowstorm in the area on Monday. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for parts of the state. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Leaning in for a quick kiss in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, during a snowstorm in the area on Monday. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for parts of the state. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK • Winter storms that delivered cold rain and ice to much of the Northeast and snow to the Midwest in the United States left more than 100,000 homes and businesses without power and caused more than 500 flight delays.

A snowstorm that created blizzard-like conditions in parts of Minnesota and the Dakotas over the weekend, contributing to hundreds of traffic crashes and closing parts of interstate highways, lingered over the region on Monday and also extended across the Northeast and into New England.

About 800 snow ploughs were deployed across Minnesota, said Ms Anne Meyer of the state's Department of Transportation.

The storm dumped about 30cm of wet and heavy snow on the state over the weekend and was expected to drop another 15cm on Monday, the National Weather Service said.

That same storm continued its trek across the Northeast and New England, with rain and freezing conditions expected to last through yesterday morning. Much of New England remained under an ice-storm warning, or a winter storm warning or advisory.

Additionally, the weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning on Monday afternoon for parts of western and central Massachusetts, warning of hail.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation reported that roads across the north, west and central parts of the state were wet, slushy, snowy and icy.

More than 20 million people were under winter alerts.

A wind advisory, issued by the National Weather Service, was in effect through Monday evening in portions of Michigan. "Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result," it read.

In New York state, while heavy snow hit some parts of the state, the city was largely spared with temperatures as high as 6.7 deg C, keeping the precipitation as rain.

BLOOMBERG, NYTIMES

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 01, 2020, with the headline Winter havoc with storms and snow. Subscribe