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(CNN) — The massive winter storm battering the US with plunging temperatures coast-to-coast has left thousands without power and prompted more than a dozen governors to create emergency response plans ahead of Christmas weekend.
The storm — well on its way to becoming even stronger Friday — has delivered heavy snow and ice, making for grim road conditions with poor visibility, leaving some drivers stranded in unbearably frigid temperatures.
Travel is also being snarled, with hundreds of miles of road closures and flight cancellations growing rapidly.
Ahead of the holiday weekend, more than 200 million people in the US are under wind chill alerts from the Canadian border to the Mexican border and from Washington state to Florida, with below-zero wind chills expected in the Southeast by Friday. Other winter weather alerts are in effect for blizzard conditions, ice, snow as well as flooding.
“The National Weather Service’s Watch Warning graphic depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” the agency said Thursday.
Notably, parts of Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming have already seen wind chills below minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the past two days.
“The ongoing major winter storm will continue to produce areas of heavy snow, strong winds, and life-threatening wind chills through Saturday. If traveling for the holiday, please use extreme caution and pay attention to the latest forecasts and updates,” the National Weather Service said Thursday.
On Friday, the storm is expected to unleash more heavy snow and blizzard conditions, particularly in the Midwest.
As it treks east across the country, the storm is expected to become a bomb cyclone, a rapidly strengthening storm which drops 24 millibars of pressure within 24 hours. The storm’s pressure is forecast to match that of a Category 2 hurricane as it moves into the Great Lakes Friday.
The storm is also lashing places in the South unaccustomed to such extreme winter conditions. Thousands of homes and businesses were in the dark early Friday across Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi as well as Missouri, according to Poweroutage.us.
Governors in at least 13 states, including in the South such as Georgia and North Carolina, have implemented emergency measures to respond to the storm. Declarations of a state of emergency in several states have included the activation of National Guard units.
Plus, more than 2,600 flights have already been canceled Friday due to the storm.
Friday impacts
It will remain very cold: Friday will bring record-low temperatures in large swaths of the US, including from the Lower Mississippi Valley, northeastward into the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys and stretching across large sections of the east from the Southeast, through the Southern to Central Appalachians and into the mid-Atlantic, according to the National Weather Service.
Dangerous wind chills: The plummeting temperatures will be accompanied by high winds, which will create dangerous wind chills across nearly all across the central to eastern US.
Blizzard warnings: The Upper Midwest will see frigid temperatures, heavy snow and high winds. The warning applies to parts of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Michigan. Buffalo, New York, will go under a blizzard warning Friday morning. Such warnings go in effect when snow and wind of 35 mph will reduce visibility to less than a quarter of a mile for at least three hours.
Whiteout conditions: Blizzard conditions may exist even if snowfall stops, because high winds can pick up snow already on the ground and cause low visibility.
Plunging temps
One of the biggest dangers of the storm beside heavy snow and blizzard conditions is the rapid drop in temperatures over a short period of time. The air will continue to get and feel colder, especially during night hours.
More cities are experiencing rapidly dropping temperatures as arctic air which blasted much of the Western US and Great Plains this week heads east.
Denver: Over one hour, Denver International Airport saw a 37-degree plunge Wednesday, preliminarily the biggest one-hour drop recorded there, according to the National Weather Service.
Chicago: Over 11 hours Wednesday, Chicago’s temperature dropped 38 degrees — in terms of wind chill, a drop of 53 degrees, from 27 degrees Fahrenheit to minus 26.
St. Louis: Over 24 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday night, St. Louis’ temperature dropped 44 degrees — in terms of wind chill, a drop of 61 degrees, from 31 to minus 30.
Memphis: Over six hours Wednesday afternoon and night, Memphis’ temperature dropped 36 degrees — in terms of wind chill, a drop of 54 degrees, from 40 to minus 14.
Nashville: In just two hours Wednesday night, Nashville’s temperature dropped 29 degrees — in terms of wind chill, a drop of 41 degrees, from 39 to minus 2.
Dallas: Over nine hours Wednesday, Dallas’ temperature dropped 31 degrees — in terms of wind chill, a drop of 44 degrees, from 40 to minus 4.
Little Rock, Arkansas: Over nine hours Wednesday afternoon and night, Little Rock’s temperature dropped 36 degrees — in terms of wind chill, a drop of 52 degrees, from 41 to minus 11.
Cheyenne, Wyoming: Over about one hour, temperatures in Cheyenne dropped by 43 degrees. The capital city also saw a 30-degree drop in temperature in 10 minutes.
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