A huge winter storm has wreaked havoc across the U.S., sending gusts of powerful winds and heavy rain and snow pelting down onto millions of people in the Midwest and East Coast.
Images taken from the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the NOAA-20 satellite on January 9 reveal the scale of the massive storm’s clouds as they engulfed the region.
At least five people have been reported to have died in Alabama, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and North Carolina as a result of the stormy weather, and hundreds of thousands of people had power outages.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System JPSS
The National Weather Service (NWS) had issued blizzard warnings for Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wyoming, and up to 15 inches of snowfall was recorded in parts of Iowa. Several inches of rain fell across New England, with flash floods swamping streets and leading to evacuations along the Yantic River in New Jersey and Connecticut. Powerful winds and tornadoes buffeted the Southeast, including Florida and Georgia, with one wind gust reaching 93 mph in Albany, Georgia, on January 9.
Another powerful storm is due to hit the Midwest and the East Coast from Friday onwards, bringing even more cold temperatures, snow, and strong winds. Up to 12 inches of snow are being forecast for parts of Wisconsin and Michigan, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), with wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph expected near the Great Lakes. Wind chills of as low as minus 30 degrees are also predicted for the region.
A potent system rapidly develops over the Mid-South tonight and likely becomes a blizzard over the Midwest Friday into Saturday. pic.twitter.com/qOfXS1gA3p
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) January 11, 2024
“Heavy snow is expected in the Midwest with a powerful winter storm. The greatest confidence in heavy snow exists in southern and eastern Wisconsin, and western and northern Lower Michigan, where over 12 inches of snow is likely (60-80 percent), causing considerable disruption,” the NWS said in a statement on Thursday.
“Strong winds will spread into the Midwest and Great Lakes on Friday and Saturday with the unusually powerful low pressure system. This will make blizzard conditions possible, particularly in exposed areas. Winds will increase on Friday night and the drastically reduced visibility will make travel dangerous to impossible. Wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph may also lead to some power outages,” the NWS said. “Severe thunderstorms will be possible Thursday and Friday in the Gulf Coast and Southeast. Another round of rain in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast will lead to renewed rises on rivers and streams and possibly flooding. Moderate coastal flooding is also likely in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.”
The Pacific Northwest is also due some wintery destruction as it’s hit by atmospheric river storms, with a blizzard warning being placed for Seattle, and heavy snowfall and powerful winds being forecast for Washington and Oregon.
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