US: Unprecedented Winter Storm Kills Over 60

Facts

• Beginning on Thursday before Christmas, a 'once in a generation' winter storm swept across the US, killing at least 65 people as of Tuesday and leaving thousands without power and facing frigid life-threatening temperatures.¹
• Buffalo, NY ground to a halt with hurricane-force winds and blowing snow that caused whiteout conditions. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that nearly every emergency vehicle in the city was stranded on Saturday, as the National Weather Service (NWS) in Buffalo reported 43 in. of snow at the Niagara International Airport.²
• At least 40 of the deceased died in western New York, primarily in Buffalo. Between Monday and Tuesday, the area was expected to see another 8-12 in. of snow.³
• Nearly 60% of the country was placed under a winter storm advisory or warning. According to FlightAware, a flight tracking site, the unprecedented weather system has wreaked havoc on domestic and international travel, forcing the cancellation of more than 1.7k flights as of Christmas morning.⁴
• Many states also faced significant power outages from the below-freezing temps and blizzard-like conditions on Christmas Day. The storm, described as 'a major and anomalous storm' by the NWS, put more than 175k households in the dark and cold across Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia.⁵

Sources: ¹NBC, ²PBS NewsHour, ³Associated Press, ⁴USA Today and ⁵Newsweek.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Utility Dive. The North American Electric Reliability Corp. warned that the US power grid could face widespread and unprecedented risks this winter. While there are sufficient energy resources under normal winter conditions, large swaths of the country have been left with power systems not built for extreme cold scenarios. A strong and cohesive collaboration between industry and government will be needed to bring the regions out of the dark ages, literally.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Power Technology. The US power grid is a massive system that is complex and a growing network requiring significant maintenance. The increase in extreme weather events due to climate change has tested the system, in some cases, beyond its capacity. Biden has been forward-leaning on the challenges, however, signing a $1T infrastructure bill to help modernize the US grid and allow for the faster restart of service when facing disaster.