January 04, 2018•Update: January 05, 2018
By Safvan Allahverdi
WASHINGTON
At least three people are dead and more than 3,000 flights have been as a brutal winter storm pummels the U.S. East Coast.
All three deaths occurred in North Carolina from the “bomb cyclone” of snow and wind, including two men who died Wednesday night when their pickup truck slid off a bridge and landed upside down in a creek, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said Thursday at a press conference.
"Driving conditions will remain hazardous over the coming days, with black ice an ongoing concern through the weekend,” Cooper said, adding the storm has caused hundreds of auto accidents.
In addition, a total of 3,043 flights, both international and domestic, have been or delayed for hours, according to airline tracking firm FlightAware.
Most of the cancellations were in New Jersey, Boston New York, which are seeing snowfall rates of up to 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) an hour and wind gusts up to 80 miles (128 kilometers) per hour.
The New York City Department of Education said public schools would be closed Thursday and most likely Friday due to the severe weather.
The storm also slammed the U.S. Southeast, dumping snow on Florida’s capital, Tallahassee, for the first time in decades.
The governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia declared states of emergency, warning residents to be aware of icy roads and freezing temperatures.
Public works crews worked to clear snow-covered roads with snow plows and trucks loaded with road salt in the Northeast and Southeast.
