Forty-million people along the U.S. East Coast are bracing themselves for what weather forecasters are calling a “bomb cyclone” — a massive winter storm blowing through the Atlantic Ocean.
The first bands of the snow began moving through the mid-Atlantic region of the eastern U.S overnight into early Thursday.
The storm is expected to greatly impact the northeastern United States, possibly dumping more than 20 centimeters of snow on Boston, Massachusetts, where schools are closed Thursday.
Hurricane-force winds are expected to hit the New England coast and into Canada. Blizzard warnings are out for coastal towns from Virginia through Maine.
Forecasters liken the storm to a bomb because of the sharp drop in pressure in just 24 hours, creating tremendous winds.
Meanwhile, brutal winter weather brought snow, ice, and freezing temperatures to parts of the country not used to such conditions.
Snow covered the ground in Tallahassee, Florida for the first time in nearly 30 years Wednesday. Ice turned highways in Georgia and the Carolinas into dangerous skating rinks.
Those who did not listen to warnings to stay home found themselves stuck in a 97 kilometer-long traffic backup along Interstate 95 — a major East Coast highway. Emergency workers, not used to powerful winter weather, could not keep up with the numerous accidents and overturned cars.
Elsewhere, fierce cold is gripping much of the country from the Midwest to the east and Deep South.
The high temperature in International Falls, Minnesota Wednesday was minus 19 Celsius.
Forecasters say much of the country can expect another wave of dangerously-cold weather later this week before temperatures moderate.
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