Unusual weather in two locations in the US has created a strange situation where parts of the East are suffering from extremely high temperatures, while in many other places in the West tens of millions of Americans are suffering from freezing cold.
A severe blizzard in the US disrupted the lives of tens of millions / Reuters
The situation is so unusual that even the Pacific coast, which should have a mild climate all year round, will be affected by the severe cold wave, including in sunny California.
The city of Los Angeles is getting ready for snow, as is the rest of the Golden State.
Kai Benedict makes his way to work at a local hospital in an unusual way in the state of Utah, Photo: Francisco Kjolseth / The Salt Lake Tribune via AP
About 75 million Americans in the western part are under the influence of the unusual cold wave, in 29 states.
It is mainly noticeable in the severe snowstorm that hit the states in the north of the "Midwest": North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin.
In these countries, schools were forced to close their doors and many businesses also stopped operating.
At the same time, about 2000 flights were canceled across the US as of Wednesday.
It is expected that the situation will worsen and the temperatures will drop to 45 degrees below zero in some places, and the wind gusts will also intensify the feeling of cold because they will reach a potential speed of 80 km/h. In some countries, about 60 cm of snow is expected to accumulate - the highest amount is about - 30 years.
In fact, if the prediction comes true, there will be an ice sheet of about 2090 km from Nebraska to New Hampshire.
"Stay home and limit your travel as much as possible," the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced.
Governor Tim Waltz announced the deployment of the National Guard to assist.
Similar conditions are also felt in large parts of Canada, including in Toronto, the largest city, where the snow is expected to pile up to 15 cm. The Maple State has actually seen particularly warm weather for the month of February so far. In Alberta, where the Rocky Mountains are located, the weather is expected to drop to 40 degrees below zero.
But as mentioned, the sensation is precisely on the west coast of the USA, and especially in California, where a significant amount of snow is expected to accumulate in the mountains and even a considerable amount that will pile up in the hills near Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the neighboring countries already today (Wednesday) life has been disrupted: large parts of New Mexico and Arizona and Utah were under freezing conditions that led to the closure of major roads, including about 200 miles of Interstate 40 that connects Arizona to New Mexico.
The peak will be tomorrow (Thursday).
Extreme weather conditions disrupted the lives of Utah residents, Photo: AP/Felicia Fonseca
"Anyone who lives in California will be able to see snow during the week, at least looking out the window," tweeted one of the experts at the University of California, Daniel Swain.
"This is a very unusual event."
He noted that in fact there will be snow from the state of Oregon to the Mexican border "and the question is at what height the snow will stop".
The unusual situation led to the fact that the US Meteorological Service issued a "blizzard warning" for the Los Angeles area until Thursday, which will also be expressed in "zero visibility".
At the same time, in the eastern United States, in most states on the east coast and in the southeast of the country, particularly hot weather is felt for the season that will break records on Thursday. Even in Florida, which is used to hot weather throughout the year, the record may be broken on Thursday.
In the capital Washington, in the District of Columbia, the heat record may be broken on Thursday, and already now it can be said with almost certainty that February was one of the hottest recorded in the city (probably the third hottest).
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