One third of U.S. was blanketed by heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain for several days leaving record-breaking accumulations and left Midwesterners in bitter cold temperatures. It is considered as the worst snow storm in more than 40 years. It caused power outages due to downed power lines, destroyed roofs and buildings and left a trail of snow and ice of about 2,000 mile-long.
The massive winter storm dumped two feet of snow in some areas and wind chills dipped to 30 degrees below zero. In Boston, schools were closed and hundreds of flights were cancelled. It was also the third largest snowstorm to hit Chicago. A federal emergency to expedite aid was declared by President Obama in Oklahoma. While in Texas and parts of the Deep South, temperature was around 10 degrees below zero.
The snow storm paralysed the transport systems and left travellers stranded. During the week, there were around 13,000 flights cancelled, the highest number of disruption this winter.
Weather authorities said that this mammoth storm became so massive due to the collision of cold and warm air from Canada and the South and the La Nina phenomenon from the Pacific.
Related story: https://journalweek.com/the-la-nina-phenomenon/
