- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
- Death toll in Brazil bus crash rises to 41
- Odermatt stays hot to break Swiss World Cup wins record
- Neville says Rashford's career at Man Utd nearing 'inevitable ending'
- Syria's new leader vows not to negatively interfere in Lebanon
- Germany pledges security inquest after Christmas market attack
- Putin vows 'destruction' on Ukraine after Kazan drone attack
- Understated Usyk seeks recognition among boxing legends
- France awaits appointment of new government
- Cyclone Chido death toll rises to 94 in Mozambique
- Stokes out of England's Champions Trophy squad
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 28
- Sweet smell of success for niche perfumes
- 'Finally, we made it!': Ho Chi Minh City celebrates first metro
- Angry questions in Germany after Christmas market attack
- China's Zheng pulls out of season-opening United Cup
- Minorities fear targeted attacks in post-revolution Bangladesh
- Tatum's 43-point triple-double propels Celtics over Bulls
- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
- Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
- India's architecture fans guard Mumbai's Art Deco past
- Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province
- Large earthquake hits battered Vanuatu
- Beaten Fury says Usyk got 'Christmas gift' from judges
- First Singaporean golfer at Masters hopes 'not be in awe' of heroes
Wicked winter storm threatens US holiday travel chaos
Life-threatening blizzards and bone-chilling winds are forecast across much of the United States over the next few days, threatening chaos for millions during the peak holiday travel period.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Wednesday that a powerful winter storm would produce "a multitude of weather hazards" across the northern, central and eastern parts of the country.
Airlines told holiday travelers to brace for delays and cancellations as an Arctic cold front grips the northern Plains on Wednesday, sweeps through the Midwest and heads towards the East Coast on Friday just before Christmas.
"This will not be your average cold front as temperatures could drop 20 or more degrees within a few hours," the NWS said, bringing "record-breaking frigid temperatures" to the Gulf Coast and eastern United States by Friday.
It said the Great Lakes region could expect more than a foot (30.5 centimeters) of snow.
"Wind chill values could drop as low as minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 57 degrees Celsius) throughout parts of the central High Plains," the NWS said, warning that "cold of this magnitude could lead to frostbite on exposed skin within minutes."
"Prepare now for extreme cold and ensure outdoor animals and livestock have sufficient shelter," it said.
The NWS said wind gusts of over 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour and snow will result in blizzard conditions from the northern and central Plains to the Great Lakes, creating "extremely dangerous travel conditions for both drivers and air travel."
- 'Bomb cyclone' -
The winter storm comes as the Transportation Security Administration said it expects holiday travel volume to be close to pre-pandemic levels, with the busiest day on Thursday.
The American Automobile Association estimated that more than 112 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home between Friday and January 2, the vast majority -- 102 million -- by car.
The Federal Aviation Administration warned that high winds and heavy snow could delay flights at major air travel hubs Minneapolis-St. Paul, Chicago and Denver.
AccuWeather forecasters said the storm could rapidly strengthen into what is known as a "bomb cyclone" through a process known as "bombogenesis," when the barometric pressure drops and a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass.
The NWS in Buffalo, New York called it a "once-in-a-generation storm" with wind gusts of over 65 mph, wind chill as low as 10 to 20 degrees below zero, and scattered or possibly widespread power outages.
Forecasters in Minneapolis described it a "high-end, life-threatening event" that "needs to be taken seriously."
In Fort Worth, Texas, the NWS told residents the cold snap was not expected to be as devastating as the one in February of last year, when freezing temperatures knocked out power to millions in the Lone Star State and caused dozens of deaths.
And in Washington, lawmakers were scrambling to complete work on a sweeping $1.7 trillion spending package before the massive winter storm complicates travel plans.
V.Dantas--PC