Massive winter storm freezes New York as millions in US in blackout

A massive January 24 winter storm dumped snow and freezing rain from New Mexico to North Carolina as it swept across the United States last weekend.

The insane weather event impacted 235 million Americans nationwide, with blackouts, transportation chaos and bone-rattling cold.

New York City’s iconic* cityscape was left almost unrecognisable, as the Hudson River froze and transformed the skyline into a near-Arctic scene.

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Picturesque* snow fell across the city’s famous Central Park and surrounds, but New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters, “there is no more powerful reminder of the danger of extreme cold” after confirming multiple deaths caused by the extreme weather event.

Ice lined the Manhattan shoreline after the “Big Apple*” received up to 30cm of snow, which battered more than 30 states.

New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, and authorities urged residents to stay inside and avoid travel.

Tens of thousands of flights were cancelled across America as millions across the country faced freezing conditions. Wind chill lows were forecasted below -45C. Such low temperatures can cause frostbite* within minutes.

“Stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary,” Texas’s Emergency Management Division posted on social media, while the PowerOutage.com tracking site showed over one million customers were without electricity by Sunday afternoon.

The storm system was the result of a stretched polar vortex*, an Arctic region of cold, low-pressure air that normally forms a relatively compact, circular system but sometimes morphs into a more oval shape, sending cold air spilling across North America.

While some scientists pointed to climate change as a factor, the environmental debate continues and natural weather patterns were also cited by some experts as playing a role.

While the storm system has now moved out to sea, meteorologists* said the snow and sleet would stick around into early February.

“Impacts will linger well into next week with rounds of refreezing that keeps surfaces icy and dangerous to both drive and walk on for the foreseeable future,” America’s National Weather Service (NWS) said.

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GLOSSARY

• iconic: very famous or popular, especially being considered to represent particular opinions or a particular time
• picturesque: resembling a picture or painted scene, something visually charming
• Big Apple: informal nickname for New York, coined by a sportswriter in the 1920s and popularised as a 1970s tourism slogan
• frostbite: injury to someone caused by severe cold, usually to their toes, fingers, ears, or nose, that causes permanent loss of tissue
• vortex: a mass of air or water that spins around very fast and pulls objects into its empty centre
• meteorologists: a specialist in the study of the Earth’s atmosphere and weather-forming processes, including weather forecasting

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QUICK QUIZ

1. How many Americans were impacted by the storm system?
2. When did the storm begin sweeping the US?
3. How many centimetres of snow landed on the Hudson River shoreline?
4. Wind chill lows were forecasted at what freezing temperature?
5. A polar vortex can sometimes morph into what shape?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Get in the picture!
Choose your favourite image from the gallery. Write a description that will make your reader understand exactly how it would feel to be in that picture. Remember to think about all of your senses – what does it look, smell, sound, feel and maybe even taste like?

Time: allow at least 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
What do you think is more dangerous – extreme heat or extreme cold? Use information from the story and perhaps your research skills to write a convincing argument for your opinion.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links English, Science, Health and Physical Education

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.

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