Blizzards threaten the North American plains

Washington [US], December 27: CNN reported that more than 1.1 million people in the North American Great Plains of the United States have received storm warnings since the afternoon of December 25, when heavy snow and strong winds threatened flights and damaged roads.
Accordingly, the new warning is applied until December 27, mainly in three states: Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. Weather watch guidance is also in effect in parts of Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming.
The New York Times quoted a report from the US National Weather Service saying that many areas in South Dakota are expected to have up to 30 cm of snow and wind gusts of up to 90 km/h. This is also the place expected to be most severely affected by the storm. Accordingly, traveling in this area "may be very difficult or impossible". Even in cases where the snowfall is not too heavy, meteorologists still warn people to limit going out because "widespread blowing snow" can significantly reduce visibility.
Local officials also warned of the risk of power outages, especially in South Dakota, because strong winds could knock down trees and down power lines. Meanwhile, the Nebraska State Patrol said an accident between tractor-trailers forced local authorities to block a section of Interstate 80 for about 3 hours on the afternoon of December 25. In addition, about 60 weather incidents have also caused activities on this road to be delayed. With the current freezing rain situation, traffic in North Dakota has also been reduced to avoid slipping.
The storm's effects are expected to be felt as far west as Colorado and as far south as Kansas, where there could be about 20 centimeters of snow and wind gusts of up to 97 kilometers per hour. According to the US weather agency, snowstorm conditions in northern and northwest Kansas may last until the early morning of December 27. Heavy snow, ice and strong winds are expected to cause widespread disruption to road and air travel across affected areas. In an effort to ensure people's safety, Crisis24 said that passes and tunnels may be closed to prevent vehicles from getting stuck in the snow.
There have been forecasts that the severe weather could cause delays and cancellations at airports in affected areas. However, the impact on air travel appears to remain relatively modest.
According to aviation tracking site FlightAware, less than 150 flights were canceled as of early afternoon on December 25, while nationwide there were only nearly 1,700 flights delayed. Airports are encouraging travelers to proactively update the situation from airlines to be proactive in all situations.
For travelers planning to visit the above states, Mr. Kyle Weisser, a meteorologist at the US National Weather Service, urged people to evaluate whether the trip is truly necessary before leaving. .
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper