Heaviest snowfall in a decade possible as wintry blast roils parts of US

Update Heaviest snowfall in a decade possible as wintry blast roils parts of US
Motorists drive through the snow along I-264 on January 5, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 06 January 2025
Follow

Heaviest snowfall in a decade possible as wintry blast roils parts of US

Heaviest snowfall in a decade possible as wintry blast roils parts of US
  • Studies show a fast-warming Arctic is partly to blame for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex extending its icy grip

A blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures stirred up dangerous travel conditions in parts of the central US on Sunday, as a disruptive winter storm brought the possibility of the “heaviest snowfall in a decade” to some areas.
Snow and ice blanketed major roadways in nearly all of Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help any motorists who were stuck. At least 8 inches of snow were expected, particularly north of Interstate 70, as the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour (72.42 kilometers per hour). The warning extended to New Jersey for Monday and into early Tuesday.
“For locations in this region that receive the highest snow totals, it may be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade,” the weather service said early Sunday.
About 63 million people in the US were under some kind of winter weather advisory, watch or warning on Sunday, according to Bob Oravec with the National Weather Service.
Gary Wright wore a parka as he chipped away at a thick coating of ice on his SUV Sunday in a slippery apartment parking lot in mid-Missouri. He said he will work remotely for the University of Missouri-Columbia on Monday, but wanted to scrape off his vehicle as an excuse to spend a little time in the snow. He’s also in the market for boots for his two older dogs, who “won’t budge at all” when their paws hit the cold ground.

 


The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually spins around the North Pole. People in the US, Europe and Asia experience its intense cold when the vortex escapes and stretches south.
Studies show a fast-warming Arctic is partly to blame for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex extending its icy grip.
Snow and ice in the forecast, and even possible tornadoes
In Indiana, snow fully covered portions of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and US Route 41, prompting Indiana State Police to plead with motorists to stay off the roads as plows worked to keep up with the pace of the precipitation.
“It’s snowing so hard, the snow plows go through and then within a half hour the roadways are completely covered again,” Sgt. Todd Ringle said.
A section of I-70 was closed in central Kansas by Saturday afternoon. Roughly 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow had fallen in parts of the state, with snow and sleet totals predicted to top 14 inches for parts of Kansas and northern Missouri.
In Kentucky, Louisville recorded 7.7 inches (19.5 cm) of snow on Sunday, a new record for the date that shattered the previous mark of 3 inches (7.6 cm) set in 1910. Lexington, Kentucky, also set a snowfall record, with 5 inches (12.7 cm).
Parts of upstate New York saw 3 feet (0.9 meters) or more of snow from a lake effect event expected to last until late Sunday afternoon.
The storm was forecast to move into the Ohio Valley and reach the Mid-Atlantic states later Sunday and into Monday, with a hard freeze expected as far south as Florida.
Damaging winds brought down trees across the Deep South. The weather service issued tornado warnings Sunday in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Car wrecks proliferate as storm hits
The weather service warned that road travel could be “very difficult to impossible.”
By Sunday, hundreds of car accidents had been reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was hit on Interstate 65. At least 600 motorists were stranded in Missouri, that state’s highway patrol said.
Highways in northeastern Kansas were closed due to “impassable” conditions, according to the state’s Transportation Department. The closures included roughly 220 miles (354 kilometers) of the state’s main artery, Interstate 70, from the Missouri border into central Kansas.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who declared a state emergency ahead of the storm, said state buildings would be closed Monday.
“We see far too many wrecks out there for people that do not have to be on the roads, so I want to ask: Stay inside. Stay safe with your family,” the governor said.
Virginia State Police reported at least 135 crashes as the storm entered the state Sunday. A handful of injuries were reported, but no fatalities.
Air and rail travel also snarled
The storms also caused havoc for the nation’s railways, leading to numerous cancelations. More than 20 cancelations were planned on Sunday, 40 for Monday and at least two for Tuesday.
“If local authorities are telling people not to travel, it’s counterintuitive to try to run a full slate of services when people are being told to stay home,” Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said.
The Midwest was hit especially hard. A train between Chicago and New York and several regional trains between Chicago and St. Louis were among those canceled Sunday.
Nearly 200 flights in and out of St. Louis Lambert International Airport were canceled, according to tracking platform FlightAware.
Temperatures dip, though no records break
Starting Monday, the eastern two-thirds of the country will experience dangerous, bone-chilling cold and wind chills, forecasters said. Temperatures could be 12 to 25 degrees (7 to 14 degrees Celsius) below normal.
In Chicago on Sunday, temperatures hovered in the teens (minus 7 to 10 Celsius) and around zero in Minneapolis, while dropping to 11 below in International Falls, Minnesota, on the Canadian border.
The Northeastern states are more likely to experience several days of cold following what has mostly been a mild start to winter, said Jon Palmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. A plume of cold air coming down from Canada is likely to result in a cold but dry week, he said.
The cold air will likely grip the eastern half of the country as far south as Georgia, Palmer said, with parts of the East Coast experiencing freezing temperatures and lows dipping into the single digits in some areas.
Wind might also pick up as the week gets going, making for potentially dangerous conditions for people exposed to the elements for long periods of time, Palmer said.
Disruptions extend southward
The National Weather Service predicted 8 to 12 inches (about 20 to 30 centimeters) of snow for the Annapolis, Maryland, area, with temperatures remaining below freezing throughout the weekend.
In a statement on X, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Friday ahead of the storm and encouraged residents to vote before the state’s special elections on Tuesday.
Similar declarations were issued in Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia and in central Illinois cities.
Classes canceled
School closings were likely to be widespread Monday. Districts in Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky were already announcing cancelations and delays on Sunday afternoon.
Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools canceled classes, extracurricular activities and athletics Monday for its nearly 100,000 students. The day would have been students’ first one back after winter break.
“This is a traditional snow day with no online learning,” the district announced.

 


Germany’s Scholz describes Trump’s Gaza proposal as a ‘scandal’ in election debate

Germany’s Scholz describes Trump’s Gaza proposal as a ‘scandal’ in election debate
Updated 7 sec ago
Follow

Germany’s Scholz describes Trump’s Gaza proposal as a ‘scandal’ in election debate

Germany’s Scholz describes Trump’s Gaza proposal as a ‘scandal’ in election debate
  • “The relocation of populations is unacceptable and against international law,” he added in the debate on ARD and ZDF public television

BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US could take ownership of the Gaza Strip, relocate its population and redevelop it as a “scandal” in a pre-election debate Sunday. His main challenger also voiced unease but suggested there’s “a lot of rhetoric” coming from Washington.
The center-left Scholz and center-right challenger Friedrich Merz, the front-runner in the Feb. 23 election, discussed top domestic issues such as Germany’s struggling economy and migration, and also addressed foreign policy three weeks into Trump’s new term.
Asked what he made of Trump’s proposal to redevelop Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” Scholz replied: “A scandal. Besides that, a really terrible expression,” given the extent of the destruction that is now visible there.
“The relocation of populations is unacceptable and against international law,” he added in the debate on ARD and ZDF public television. He pointed to the position of Egypt and Jordan.
“I share this assessment,” Merz said. “But it is one of a whole series of proposals coming from the American administration that are certainly disconcerting, but one has to wait and see what is really meant seriously and how it is implemented — there’s probably a lot of rhetoric in this.”
The two candidates differed in their assessment of a Trump order directing the federal government to recognize only two sexes — male and female. Merz said it “is a decision I can understand.”
“I think it’s inappropriate,” Scholz said. “Every person should be happy the way they want to be happy.”
Merz said the new US president is “predictably unpredictable.” He said that “there are significant concerns on this side of the Atlantic about what else is coming; so it’s all the more important that we on this side of the Atlantic are as united as possible.”
He said that, if elected, he would put a great deal of effort into ensuring such European unity.
Scholz said that his strategy for dealing with Trump is “clear words and friendly conversations.” He pointed to his public statements after Trump said he wouldn’t rule out the use of military force to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland that all countries must respect existing borders.
He also pointed to the importance of European unity and said he and other countries are working on proposals to increase NATO’s presence in Greenland.
Asked about a response to possible US tariffs against the EU, Scholz said: “We are prepared ... We can act in an hour as the European Union.”

 


Baltic states switch to European power grid, ending Russia ties

Baltic states switch to European power grid, ending Russia ties
Updated 14 min 57 sec ago
Follow

Baltic states switch to European power grid, ending Russia ties

Baltic states switch to European power grid, ending Russia ties
  • It is designed to integrate the three Baltic nations more closely with the European Union and to boost the region’s energy security

VILNIUS: The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania completed a switch from Russia’s electricity grid to the EU’s system on Sunday, severing Soviet-era ties amid heightened security after the suspected sabotage of several subsea cables and pipelines.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the move, years in the planning, as marking a new era of freedom for the region, in a speech at a ceremony in Vilnius alongside the leaders of the three countries and the Polish president.
“These chains of power lines linking you to hostile neighbors will be a thing of the past,” von der Leyen said.
Debated for many years, the complex switch away from the grid of their former Soviet imperial overlord gained momentum following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
It is designed to integrate the three Baltic nations more closely with the European Union and to boost the region’s energy security.
“This is freedom, freedom from threats, freedom from blackmail,” von der Leyen said, adding that the wider European continent was also liberating itself from the use of Russian natural gas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address that Kyiv had taken the same step in 2022 “and the Baltic states are also ridding themselves of this dependence.
“Moscow will no longer be able to use energy as a weapon against the Baltic states.”
After disconnecting on Saturday from the IPS/UPS network, established by the Soviet Union in the 1950s and now run by Russia, the Baltic nations cut cross-border high-voltage transmission lines in eastern Latvia, some 100 meters from the Russian border, handing out pieces of chopped wire to enthusiastic bystanders as keepsakes.

HIGH ALERT
The Baltic Sea region is on high alert following power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages between the Baltics and Sweden or Finland. All were believed to have been caused by ships dragging anchors along the seabed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has denied any involvement.
Poland and the Baltics deployed navy assets, elite police units and helicopters to monitor the area after an undersea power link from Finland to Estonia was damaged in December, while Lithuania’s military began drills to protect the overland connection to Poland.
Analysts say any further damage to links could push power prices in the Baltics to levels not seen since the invasion of Ukraine, when energy prices soared.
The IPS/UPS grid was the final remaining link to Russia for the three countries, which re-emerged as independent nations in the early 1990s at the fall of the Soviet Union, and joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.
The three staunch supporters of Kyiv stopped purchases of power from Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but have relied on the Russian grid to control frequencies and stabilize networks to avoid outages.
Analysts say that maintaining a constant power supply requires a stable grid frequency, which can more easily be obtained over time in a large synchronized area such as Russia or continental Europe, compared to what the Baltics can do on their own.
For Russia, the decoupling means its Kaliningrad exclave, located between Lithuania, Poland and the Baltic Sea, is cut off from Russia’s main grid, leaving it to maintain its power system alone.
The Kremlin said it has taken all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted, reliable operation in its electricity system, including the construction of several gas-fired power plants in Kaliningrad.


Niger’s military to hold ‘national convention’ on transition charter

Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by militant groups.
Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by militant groups.
Updated 09 February 2025
Follow

Niger’s military to hold ‘national convention’ on transition charter

Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by militant groups.
  • Sahel country is one of several nations in the region where army has seized power

NIAMEY: Niger’s military regime will organize a “national convention” from Feb. 15 to 19, notably intended to set the duration of the transition period that began with the 2023 overthrow of civilian President Mohamed Bazoum, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry unveiled the dates in a press release broadcast on state television, adding that the gathering would take place in the capital Niamey.
In August 2023, shortly after taking power in a coup, General Abdourahamane Tiani announced the organization of an “inclusive national dialogue” to outline the priority areas of governance and lay down the duration of the transition.
At the time, he mentioned a maximum duration of three years, but he has not addressed the issue since.
Early last year consultations were held across the country’s eight regions to lay out a working basis for next week’s meetings, with a national commission also created by presidential decree to oversee the work of the four-day conference set to produce a “preliminary draft of the transition charter.”
Following the gathering there will be a three-week period in which to draft a “final report” to General Tiani.
The commission, headed by Mamoudou Harouna Djingareye, a traditional leader, also comprises former ministers, academics, lawyers, soldiers, advisers to General Tiani, religious leaders and figures drawn from civil society.
It is made up of five sub-committees whose themes are “peace, security, national reconciliation and social cohesion,” “political and institutional overhaul” and “justice and human rights.”
Niger is one of several countries in Africa’s Sahel region where the military has seized power in coups in recent years, amid persistent attacks by insurgencies.
A few days earlier, armed assailants in the country killed at least 10 soldiers in an ambush on a military unit that had been sent to hunt cattle rustlers in a border region near Burkina Faso.
The military unit was deployed to catch criminals who had been stealing the cattle in the western village of Takzat, the military said in a statement broadcast Wednesday night.
“It was during the operation that a group of criminals ambushed the detachment of the internal security forces which resulted in the loss of 10 of our soldiers,” the statement said. It did not identify the attackers.
The attackers managed to flee, but the military caught and neutralized 15 “terrorists” on Tuesday, the statement added.
Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by militant groups, including some allied with Al-Qaeda and Daesh.
Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance. The three countries have vowed to strengthen their cooperation by establishing a new security alliance, the Alliance of Sahel States.
But the security situation in the Sahel, a vast region on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, has significantly worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and civilians killed both by militants and government forces.

 


25 civilians killed in an attack by gunmen in Mali

Troops of the Malian army patrol the ancient town of Djenne in central Mali on February 28, 2020. (AFP)
Troops of the Malian army patrol the ancient town of Djenne in central Mali on February 28, 2020. (AFP)
Updated 09 February 2025
Follow

25 civilians killed in an attack by gunmen in Mali

Troops of the Malian army patrol the ancient town of Djenne in central Mali on February 28, 2020. (AFP)
  • The military seized power in 2020, capitalizing on the unpopularity of the former democratically elected government, but the new rulers have struggled with deadly militant attacks

BAMAKO: Gunmen have attacked a convoy of vehicles escorted by Mali’s army, killing 25 civilians mostly gold miners, a military spokesman said Sunday.
The attack took place Friday about 30 kilometers from Gao, the largest city in the country’s northeast where armed groups hostile to the ruling junta operate. It was the deadliest attack on civilians this year.
The assailants targeted a convoy of some 60 vehicles escorted by the army, military spokesman Col. Maj. Souleymane Dembele said. He said soldiers assisted the victims and transferred 13 wounded to the Gao hospital.
He said four of the attackers were wounded and declined to comment on any army casualties.
“My sister survived the attack, but she’s in a state of mental shock. She saw a lot of dead and wounded, a whole scene of horror. It was the first time she had seen dead people,” said a Gao resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for his own safety.
Several groups operate in the area, including Daesh, the Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM, and others from the Azawad region hostile to Mali’s military regime.
Mali has been in a crisis for more than 10 years.
The military seized power in 2020, capitalizing on the unpopularity of the former democratically elected government, but the new rulers have struggled with deadly militant attacks.

 


Namibia’s ‘founding father’ Sam Nujoma dies aged 95

Namibia’s ‘founding father’ Sam Nujoma dies aged 95
Updated 09 February 2025
Follow

Namibia’s ‘founding father’ Sam Nujoma dies aged 95

Namibia’s ‘founding father’ Sam Nujoma dies aged 95
  • The presidency said Nujoma had been hospitalized for medical treatment over the past three weeks, adding: “Unfortunately, this time, the most gallant son of our land could not recover from his illness”

WINDHOEK: Sam Nujoma, the activist and guerrilla leader who became Namibia’s first democratically elected president after it won its independence from apartheid South Africa, died aged 95 on Saturday, the Namibian Presidency said on Sunday. Nujoma rose to head the thinly populated southern African country on March 21, 1990 and was formally recognized as “Founding Father of the Namibian Nation” through a 2005 act of parliament.
The acclaim was balanced out by domestic and international criticism over his intolerance of critical media coverage.
He was a longtime ally of Zimbabwean strongman Robert Mugabe, backing Mugabe’s land seizures from white farmers, though at home Nujoma stuck to a “willing buyer, willing seller” policy.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Nujoma rose to head the thinly populated southern African country on March 21, 1990 and was formally recognized as ‘Founding Father of the Namibian Nation.’

• He was a longtime ally of Zimbabwean strongman Robert Mugabe, backing Mugabe’s land seizures from white farmers.

“The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken,” the presidency posted on X.
“Our venerable leader, Dr. Nujoma did not only blaze the trail to freedom – but he also inspired us to rise to our feet and to become masters of this vast land of our ancestors.”
The presidency said Nujoma had been hospitalized for medical treatment over the past three weeks, adding: “Unfortunately, this time, the most gallant son of our land could not recover from his illness.”
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said Nujoma’s leadership of a free Namibia laid the foundation for the solidarity and partnership the two countries share today, “a partnership we will continue to deepen as neighbors and friends.”
“Dr. Sam Nujoma was an extraordinary freedom fighter who divided his revolutionary program between Namibia’s own struggle against South African colonialism and the liberation of South Africa from apartheid,” he said in a statement.
African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat hailed Nujoma as one of the continent’s “most illustrious revolutionary leaders” and “the epitome of courage.”