Heavy rain and snow disrupted the northeastern United States on Tuesday, March 14, causing power outages and hundreds of flight cancellations, as the West Coast also suffers between two storms and an unusually rainy winter.
“Double storm! one on each side »the US Weather Service (NWS) warned, citing this “Major flood threats in California”And “The danger, if not the impossibility, of traveling in the Northeast because of the snow and coastal flooding”. in the north-east of the country, “The most important expected effects until the night of Tuesday to Wednesday” with “heavy snowfall” And “Strong wind”NWS warned.
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“If you don’t need to drive, do us a favor and don’t go out on the roads. There are electric wires everywhere, trees everywhere and it won’t get any better.”alerted local police in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, as up to 71 centimeters of snow fell.
What is the link between extreme cold spells and global warming?
This double phenomenon on both coasts, which is somewhat rare in the United States, comes after several severe weather events, such as a series of storms in January in California that killed 20 people, and a very heavy snowfall in late December. in Buffalo and the surrounding area in upstate New York, killing at least 39 people.
While it is difficult to establish a direct link with climate change, scientists regularly explain that warming increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
Closing schools and canceling elections
Bad weather and high winds caused power outages in the Northeast on Tuesday, affecting more than 240,000 homes, according to the specialist poweroutage website.
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At least several hundred flights have been delayed or cancelled, disruptions particularly related to New York’s LaGuardia Airport, or Boston Airport, according to FlightAware. In Syracuse, near the border with Canada, passengers had to be evacuated from a plane that had left its runway. The airport said there were no injuries.
Schools are closed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as dozens of local elections, scheduled for Tuesday, have been postponed.
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In California, heavy rain can cause “Major floods below 5,000 feet over most of the California coast and Central Valley, as well as the southern foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range”NWS warned.
Meteorologists warn of a high risk of avalanches. Heavy snowfall, rain on snow and high winds will overload the snow block.NWS adds.
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The coastal nation has already faced such unrest in recent weeks.
This weekend, homes were flooded and cars were submerged after the Pajaro River overflowed, breaching a dam overnight Friday through Saturday and causing thousands of people to evacuate south of San Francisco.
Evacuations have also been ordered in southern Santa Barbara County, including parts of the upscale coastal enclave of Montecito, where Prince Harry and his wife Meghan live.
The most populous state in the country with a population of 39 million people, California experiences a particularly rainy winter.
The current storm, like most others this season, is fueled by B.J “atmospheric river”a giant rainforest that transports water vapor stored in the tropics, often around Hawaii.
