NEW YORK – The eastern United States and Canada froze on Saturday under record-breaking low temperatures following a deadly winter storm as New York’s flagship airport descended into chaos, battling to contain flight backlog.
The deep freeze follows a storm, dubbed a “bomb cyclone” by forecasters, which has been blamed for at least 22 deaths in the US, from Texas to Wisconsin, media reported.
In one incident, a car slid off an icy road, killing a pedestrian early on Friday in North Charleston in the southeastern state of South Carolina, city officials said.
In the eastern state of Virginia, two people died, including a girl struck by a pickup truck while sledding and a 75-year-old man hit by a snowplow while clearing the business parking lots, said local authorities.
Some southeastern coast areas of Georgia and Florida in the southeastern US received a rare 15 cm of snow.
In New England in the northeast corner of the country, powerful winds brought coastal flooding that reached record high levels in some communities, leading to the rescues of people trapped in cars and homes by rapidly rising water.
Nearly 500 flights were canceled and more than 3,000 flights were delayed across the country, according to the local flight tracking website.
Travelers at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport experienced lengthy delays due to heavy snowfall. Hundreds of passengers were forced to spend Friday night inside the airport.
Passengers complained of being stranded on the tarmac for hours and then facing lengthy delays in baggage claim that made traveling, particularly with babies or the elderly, a misery.
“Two small children hungry, thirsty and tired with no facilities or help in baggage reclaim. Very poor,” tweeted passenger James Allen.
Multiple trans-Atlantic flights simply gave up and went home, including an Aeroflot flight from Moscow that turned back over Iceland.
A Norwegian Air flight from London diverted to Stewart International, 112 kilometers north of Manhattan, while Flightradar 24 said a Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo diverted to Boston.
Adding to the chaos, a China Southern Airlines and Kuwait Airways jet clipped each other’s wings at JFK’s Terminal 4 late on Friday, causing damage to both aircraft but no injuries, officials said.
Many homes and business along the seaboard were still worried about power outages as strong winds challenged crews who tried to restore electricity.
But meteorologists say when the new week starts, things will get better. The temperature will gradually rise as the cold air drifts away.
However, a swath of snow, ice and rain is also forecast to develop and spread over a large portion of the central US during the retreat of the Arctic air.
Experts estimate that about 100 million people have been affected by the storm, which produced a wind chill close to minus 100 on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington that vied for world’s coldest place.
