White alert for New York: The weather service for the northeastern United States issued a winter weather warning on Friday, January 5 - a cocktail of snow and freezing rain that could fall in the next few days on 25 million people.
A "winter storm" warning has been issued for the entire weekend, from Friday night to Sunday night. Rain, snow, ice, and ice on roads are expected, with possible power outages, uprooted trees, and potential chaos in road, rail, and air transportation.
The megacity of New York and its 8.5 million souls have not seen a significant snowfall for nearly two years and the winter of 2022, when the "blizzard of the century" and more than a meter of snow in the immense state of New York caused dozens of deaths.
For this weekend, from Boston to Washington, along the busy I-95 highway corridor, "travel could be nearly impossible," the National Weather Service (NWS) warned as millions of people in the region just return from their holiday breaks.
'Winter storm'
The "capital" of New England, the great historic city of Boston, and parts of the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut could see up to 30 cm of snow accumulate. The NWS, however, warned of "uncertainty about the exact path and intensity of the winter storm."
This did not prevent the governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, from taking precautions and issuing an "emergency" bulletin calling on New Yorkers to be "vigilant".
In the U.S. and the rest of the world, the frequency, intensity, and unpredictability of summer and winter severe weather are increasing due to climate change.
On September 1, 2021, Hurricane Ida took New York and the region by surprise and floods caused the death of about forty people, some of whom drowned in the basements of their homes.