Santa Fe New Mexican

‘Life-threatenin­g’ storm to hit U.S., forecaster­s warn

- By Jim Salter and Claire Rush

ST. LOUIS — Brutally cold weather could prove a deadly challenge Saturday amid a continuing wave of Arctic storms that has hammered much of the country with blinding snow, freezing rain and whipping winds.

Governors from New York to Louisiana declared states of emergency ahead of predicted snow and bone-chilling temperatur­es. In St. Louis, the National Weather Service bureau warned of rare and “life-threatenin­g” cold.

The fierce weather blitzed campaign schedules in Iowa, the leadoff GOP caucus state. With a blizzard warning covering most of the state, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump all shuffled their schedules ahead of Monday’s presidenti­al vote.

Near-record cold in Kansas City will make for a frigid NFL playoff game Saturday night, when the Chiefs host Miami. Fans will be allowed to bring in blankets and first-aid stations were set up at Arrowhead Stadium. On Sunday, fans in Buffalo will contend with up to a foot of snow and fierce winds as the Bills host Pittsburgh.

The National Weather Service on Friday warned that a powerful storm would rock the Midwest to the Great Lakes through Saturday with heavy snow, strong winds and blizzards. Dangerousl­y frigid weather would follow across the Rockies and the Plains, while heavy rain across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic would threaten river and coastal flooding.

Some areas of the Northeast had flooding concerns. Emergency responders helped evacuate some residents from their homes in Paterson, N.J., early Friday as the Passaic River started overflowin­g its banks. The new storm, combined with one earlier in the week, created flooding worries in Maine and New Hampshire, too.

It was minus 11 degrees in Bismarck, N.D., on Friday morning, and forecaster­s warned the weekend could see temperatur­es reach 20 below by early Sunday.

Black ice from freezing rain caused wrecks and brought Kansas City, Mo., to a standstill.

At the Double Cross Cattle Company, a ranch south of Roberts, Mont., Tyson Ropp used an axe Friday morning to chop through inches of ice covering a trough so that his bulls could get to their water.

“It’s just Montana,” he added with a shrug.

But the weather won’t spare any part of the country this weekend, forecaster­s said.

“EVERY state in the U.S. has an active NWS watch, warning, or advisory,” the National Weather Service announced Friday as it posted a color-coded map that showed portions of states under threat from storms, winds, floods, blizzards and avalanches.

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