More than 20 people lost their lives as the Elliot winter storm swept across a large portion of the United States during the holiday season, bringing the coldest weather in decades and severely disrupting life from coast to coast.
The storm formed from an Arctic air mass and raced eastward, leaving behind freezing temperatures from Canada down to Texas, heavy snowfall, and powerful winds that stressed the power grid and disrupted aviation nationwide.
On Christmas morning, about 200,000 customers remained without power, and roughly 3,000 flights were cancelled as the system pressed on. The disruption extended to rail transit as well, with Amtrak services and many regional trains affected.
about twenty dead
At least seven fatalities occurred in the Buffalo region of New York, where authorities described widespread snow-related damage and significant airport closures that persisted into the following days. The deceased were found in vehicles, homes, and on streets, according to Erie County officials.
Governor Kathy Hochul cautioned residents that freezing temperatures remained dangerous, urging people to stay indoors and limit travel as much as possible during the worst of the cold snap.
Four more fatalities were linked to a multi-vehicle accident on an Ohio highway, involving around 50 vehicles. Across the nation, additional deaths were reported in Kansas, Missouri, Vermont, Colorado, and Wisconsin, contributing to a rising toll attributed to the storm and the cold spell.
Authorities warned that the storm was affecting roughly 200 million people in the United States, a vast portion of the population under weather alerts issued by the National Weather Service. The cold front swept through eastern cities and even parts of Florida, where thermometers showed minimum readings not seen since Christmas 1983.
The Elliot system gradually moved east on Sunday, with temperatures remaining well below normal across the eastern half of the country. Officials said conditions would slowly improve as the system weakened, but travel would remain perilous in many areas due to slick roads and ongoing cold weather.
More than 3,000 flights were cancelled on Sunday morning, according to FlightAware, with thousands of travelers separated from loved ones during Christmas Eve and the days around the holiday. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg noted the impact on air travel and underscored the need for caution in winter driving.
The cold spell also raised concerns about road safety, with officials warning that the dangerous conditions could leave drivers stranded in snowbanks and ditches. The American Automobile Association had anticipated heavy travel during the holiday season, predicting that a large share of the population would venture out for celebrations and family gatherings despite the weather warnings.
As conditions began to ease in some areas, power restoration crews worked to reconnect homes and businesses that had lost electricity during the blizzard. By late afternoon, utility operators reported progress in restoring service to many affected neighborhoods.
By 17:30 GMT, approximately 200,000 customers remained without power, with the majority concentrated in Maine and New York. In the previous days, about 1.7 million homes and businesses faced outages as the storm churned across the region.
President Joe Biden addressed the nation, urging Americans to treat the storm with seriousness and to follow official guidance and safety recommendations as recovery efforts continued.
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