Portland officer talks about overnight road conditions
At least six people died in Virginia, Maryland and Oklahoma because of the dangerous road conditions, authorities said.
a 55-vehicle crash on a icy stretch of Interstate 95 in Baltimore, Maryland left at least two people dead and motorists stranded for hours about 5 a.m. Saturday, according to Chief Roman Clark, a Baltimore Fire Department spokesman. Fifteen people were taken to hospitals.
A video posted on social media showed a fuel truck flipping over a median on the interstate near the Washington Boulevard exit before erupting in flames. A man is heard asking, "What is going on?" as flames and dark smoke rise from under the highway.
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said good Samaritans helped pull people out of cars.
"This is the worst accident that we"ve seen," she said.
Emergency vehicles descended on the scene, stalling traffic for miles and leading authorities to urge stranded motorists on both sides of the interstate to "remain warm and calm and shelter in place" in their cars, Clark said.
The cause was under investigation, but Clark described road conditions as "very slippery."
In northern Virginia, authorities responded to more than 40 traffic accidents, some involving multiple vehicles, according to the state police.
One person was killed after a multi-vehicle crash at 5:12 a.m., Saturday, on Interstate 495 in Fairfax County, police said.
The man appeared to have been involved in a 23-vehicle collision -- including two tractor trailers -- under "slick and treacherous" road conditions, according to the state police. His body was found on the shoulder of the interstate about one mile north of the accident scene. An autopsy was to be performed.
On Thursday, three people were killed in weather-related accidents around Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.
At Dulles International Airport, just outside Washington, D.C., icy conditions forced the closure of runways for part of the morning. Two runways were reopened about 11 a.m. Saturday.
Nationally, there were 2,000 flight cancellations, according to FlightAware.
Dangerous wind chill
The brutal blast of frigid air is bringing bone-chilling winds and subfreezing temperatures across the country this weekend.
The National Weather Service warns that the massive system will produce heavy snow from parts of northern California to the Great Lakes.
Its reach will extend into the southern Rockies and New England.
Here"s what you can expect:
Nearly 50% of the country will see temperatures dip below freezing Saturday and Sunday.
With the wind chill, temperatures could reach 35 below zero in the Midwest and Northeast on Saturday.
Nearly 75 million people are under winter weather advisories
Arctic air plunging in behind a cold front is making its way across the Eastern Seaboard on Sunday morning, according to meteorologists.
Bitterly cold temperatures and dangerous windshield factors swept across Montana to Texas through the Great Lakes.
Potentially life threatening wind chills as low as 50 degrees below zero are expected in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Colorado and Idaho.
Portions of Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota could get the coldest air the region has seen in two years.
Subfreezing temperatures
New York, Washington and Boston had extremely cold temperatures Saturday, with the wind chill ranging from minus 10 to minus 35 degrees in some locations from Pennsylvania up into Maine.
Strong winds have already been an issue, with gusts in excess of 60 mph in some locations, including areas along Cape Cod.
Cold air, then fluctuating temperatures
A roller coaster ride of temperature swings are in store for parts of the country in the coming week.
Warm air is expected to surge into the Southeast, where it could meet with the storm system through much of Saturday as it crosses the Mississippi Valley. A wintry mix of rain and snow can be expected in parts of some areas that were close to freezing on Thursday evening in the deep South could see near-record highs ahead of the next push of bitter cold air.
But the respite may be brief as the next arctic blast is expected to impact areas stretching from the Plains into the western Great Lakes, causing temperatures to plummet below zero Sunday.
Chicago Bears game could break record
This weekend"s game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers could be the coldest since the Bears started tracking kickoff temperatures.
The previous record was set December 22, 2008 -- also against the Packers. The kickoff temperature was 2 degrees, with a frigid 13 below zero wind-chill temperature.
Chicago is poised to break that record Sunday.
The Buffalo Bills on Saturday made an appeal for snow shovelers at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. The pay is $10 an hour, plus lunch and dinner and a complimentary ticket for those working four hours or longer. The Bills play the Cleveland Browns Sunday afternoon.
In California, flood concerns
Rain, wind, and snow are also impacting a majority of California from this new round of weather that has moved in from the Pacific. Some areas have seen more than seven inches of rain with wind gusts in excess of 50 mph.
Upcoming western coastal storms will usher in frost and freeze warnings in California along with gusty wind and mountain snowfall Saturday. Officials also are concerned about possible mudslides, triggered sometimes when heavy rain hits drought-stricken areas.
CNN"s Steve Visser, Tony Marco, Vivian Kuo, Kevin Bohn, Sarah Jorgensen, Michael Guy, John Newsome, Madison Park and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/18/weather/weather-winter-cold/
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