Power outages inch toward one million as 25 states face monster winter storm
Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on February 23, 2023
(NEW YORK) — Power outages are inching toward one million across the U.S. as 25 states from California to Connecticut are on alert for blizzard conditions, heavy snow, strong winds and ice.
The vast majority of the outages are in Michigan, where more than 680,000 customers are waking up without power amid an ice storm.
A volunteer firefighter in Paw Paw, Michigan, died Wednesday evening when a power line fell on him, according to Paw Paw Fire Chief Jim DeGroff. The buildup of ice caused a tree limb to snap the line, DeGroff said.
Over 87,000 outages were reported Thursday morning in Illinois and there were 55,000 outages in Wisconsin. Some outages were also reported in New York and California.
On Thursday, the eastern storm will continue to bring blizzard conditions to the Dakotas and Minnesota.
In Minneapolis, where public schools are closed due to the storm, 10 inches of snow has fallen so far.
In the Northeast, an icy mix continues Thursday morning from New York state to southern New England, with heavy snow in northern New England and Maine.
In the West, Portland, Oregon, recorded 10.8 inches of snow on Wednesday, marking the second-biggest day of snowfall in recorded history.
In Salt Lake City, nearly 17 inches of snow fell, which is one of the city’s top nine biggest snowstorms.
Snow even fell in the Las Vegas metro area and mixed with rain in the Los Angeles suburbs.
In California, residents are bracing for heavy rain and possible flooding this weekend.
A rare blizzard warning was also issued for Southern California where 7 feet of snow is expected in the highest elevations in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains.
And in the South, extreme heat is moving in on Thursday.
Temperatures are forecast to climb to 79 degrees in Washington, D.C., 83 degrees in New Orleans and 80 degrees in Nashville, Tennessee.
Atlanta hit 81 degrees Wednesday, marking the city’s hottest February temperature on record.
Orlando is forecast to climb to a scorching 90 degrees on Thursday, which would break its February record temperature.
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