(Washington) The United States is bracing for another winter storm with significant snowfall in the coming days, as the aftermath of last weekend’s severe weather continues to disrupt the country.
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This event is coupled with a polar cold wave which could lead, from Thursday evening and until Monday, to record temperatures in certain regions as far as Florida, warn the American weather services (NWS).
Heavy snowfall is expected on the southern Atlantic coast, particularly hitting the states of Virginia and North and South Carolina starting Friday. With strong winds, travel could be severely disrupted throughout the region, the NWS warns.
The polar cold reaching the Florida peninsula, often protected from such events, could cause significant damage to local agriculture, authorities warn.
The forecast comes as much of the country struggles to recover from last weekend’s winter storm, when heavy snow, ice and intense cold caused significant transportation disruptions and more than 100 deaths.
Three children aged six to nine died Monday after falling into a frozen pond in Texas, very unaccustomed to such conditions.
Around 250,000 customers are still without electricity in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, according to the specialist site PowerOutage.
And, four days later, a large number of streets in the capital Washington are still very poorly cleared of snow.
A growing body of research suggests that climate change may play a role in disruptions to the polar vortex, a vast system of cold air and low pressure that normally circulates over the North Pole.
Researchers note that these disturbances could be due to the relatively rapid warming of the Arctic, which weakens the wind belt usually insulating the atmosphere above the polar zone of North America.
