Not Prepared: Over A Million Cut Off of Power in Northeast US Snowstorm

[RT] After a powerful winter storm knocked out power for more than one million people in the Northeastern United States, hundreds of thousands remain in the dark as utility crews rush to restore electricity.

Dubbed “Winter Storm Nika” by the Weather Channel, this was the second blizzard to strike the Northeast this week. Nika dropped more than a foot of snow in some areas, but it did the most damage by creating such thick layers of ice on trees and power lines that some residents are expected to go days without electricity.

“Moisture from Nika overran a layer of cold air near the surface of the earth in the Northeast late Tuesday night into early Wednesday,” said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. “This resulted in freezing rain in southeast Pennsylvania that accumulated one-quarter to one-half inch, leading to tree damage and widespread power outages.”

As Dolce stated, Pennsylvania in particular was hit the hardest. While more than a million customers lost power across the Northeast, nearly 850,000 of them were in the Keystone State. As of Thursday morning, between 495,000 and 537,000 houses remained without electricity and heat, with the local utility PECO warning all its customers may not be back online until the weekend.

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