Grupos de trabajo salieron a las calles de las ciudades del noreste de Estados Unidos el viernes para despejar las vías congeladas por una poderosa tormenta e intentar reponer la electricidad a los hogares afectados por el frío intenso que ha causado la muerte de más de una decena de personas.
Desde Baltimore a Caribou, Maine, se desplegaban cuadrillas en los caminos para remover el hielo después de que las temperaturas descendieron incluso hasta los 40 grados centígrados bajo cero en algunas partes tras la caída del sol, de acuerdo al Servicio Meteorológico Nacional.
Las compañías de servicios públicos en todo el este del país trabajaban para reponer líneas de energía caídas y restablecer el suministro eléctrico a unos 21.000 clientes afectados, aunque la cifra era menor que los casi 80.000 del día previo. Además emitieron advertencias sobre el peligro de las bajas temperaturas.
“Si la temperatura en su casa comienza a descender, recomendamos refugiarse en otro lugar hasta que el servicio pueda ser restaurado. Puede encontrar centros de refugio contactando a las autoridades locales”, dijo en Twitter la firma de distribución eléctrica National Grid, que suministra energía a Massachusetts.
La tormenta con vientos de más de 113 kilómetros por hora dejó caer 30 centímetros de nieve a lo largo de la región, incluyendo Boston y algunos sectores de Nueva Jersey y Maine, en donde seguía nevando.
Muchas comunidades de la costa este ordenaron a los conductores permanecer fuera de circulación y las escuelas estaban cerradas. Los colegios en Boston y Baltimore cancelaron las clases, mientras que en Newark, Nueva Jersey, las escuelas abrirían dos horas después de su horario habitual.
La tormenta del jueves dejó al menos tres pies de nieve (90 centímetros) junto con inundaciones en el área alrededor de sitios históricos de Boston. Los bomberos usaron balsas inflables para rescatar a un conductor desde un auto sumergido.
La tormenta forzó la cancelación de miles de vuelos y los dos principales aeropuertos de la ciudad de Nueva York detuvieron los viajes por las condiciones del tiempo.
La tormenta fue alimentada por una rápida caída en la presión barométrica que algunos meteorólogos llaman bombogenesis o ciclogénesis explosiva. Esto causa fuertes vientos e intensas nevazones.
Las condiciones del tiempo han causado la muerte de al menos 14 personas en los últimos días.
Por Scott Malone y Jonathan Allen/Reuters
People make their way during a winter storm in New York on January 4, 2018. A giant winter “bomb cyclone” walloped the US East Coast on Thursday with freezing cold and heavy snow, forcing thousands of flight cancellations and widespread school closures — and even prompting the US Senate to cancel votes for the rest of the week. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADA pedestrian walks through blinding snow across the Brooklyn Bridge during Storm Grayson in New York City, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Darren OrnitzA snowplow is seen in a car’s side mirror in upper Manhattan during Storm Grayson in New York City, New York, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYPedestrians stop to take photos in snow and heavy winds as they walk across the Brooklyn Bridge during Storm Grayson in New York City, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Darren OrnitzPeople struggle against wind and snow during Storm Grayson in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidA boy sleds down a Beacon Hill street during Storm Grayson in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Brian SnyderA pedestrian crosses the street in front of One World Trade as Storm Grayson in New York, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas JacksonStaff work on next to a parked plane at John F. Kennedy International Airport during a snow storm, in Queens, New York, U.S. in this photo taken January 4, 2018 and obtained from social medi. Max Host via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT.NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVESStaff work on the John F. Kennedy International Airport apron during a snow storm, in Queens, New York, U.S. in this still image taken from a January 4, 2018 social media video. Max Host via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT.NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVESStaff work on the John F. Kennedy International Airport apron during a snow storm, in Queens, New York, U.S. in this still image taken from a January 4, 2018 social media video. @KTANNELEE1981 via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT.NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVESA Singapore Airlines Airbus A380, diverted from John F. Kennedy Airport during a winter storm, is shown on the runway after landing at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York, U.S., January 4, 2018. Courtesy of Stewart Airport/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTYA woman walks down the street during a blizzard in Long Beach, New York, U.S. January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYDrivers make their way along the flooded Beach Road after the ocean overtopped the seawall during a winter snowstorm in the Boston suburb of Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYA pedestrian walks through blinding snow across the Brooklyn Bridge during Storm Grayson in New York City, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYA bulldog walks through the snow during a snowstorm in New York, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYA man is pictured though a window during snow storm Grayson in New York City, New York, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYA man walks near one of the water parks during Storm Grayson at the Jersey shore in Keansburg, New Jersey, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYFlooded streets are seen in Scituate, Massachusetts, U.S. January 4, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. Picture taken January 4, 2018. JILL PELO /via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVESFlooded streets are seen in Scituate, Massachusetts, U.S. January 4, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. Picture taken January 4, 2018. JILL PELO /via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVESFlooded streets are seen in Scituate, Massachusetts, U.S. January 4, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. Picture taken January 4, 2018. JILL PELO /via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVESFlooded streets are seen in Scituate, Massachusetts, U.S. January 4, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. Picture taken January 4, 2018. JILL PELO /via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
