WASHINGTON: The United States faces “dangerous and threatening” storms in the days leading up to Christmas, President Joe Biden warned from the White House on Thursday, and Americans planning to travel to visit family or friends should leave immediately.
“It’s dangerous and threatening, the weather is really, really bad and it goes from Oklahoma all the way to Wyoming and Maine. … So I encourage everyone to heed local warnings,” Biden said in the oval office.
“If you all have travel plans, leave now, it’s no joke. I’m sending my staff…if they’re planning to leave tomorrow, I tell them to leave now.”
A massive storm system is expected to bring blizzard conditions to the Great Lakes region, up to 2 inches (5 cm) of rain followed by a flash freeze on the East Coast, and wind gusts of 60 miles (100 km) per hour and bitter cold as far south as the Mexican border.
Biden, who plans to stay in Washington for the Christmas vacation on Sunday, said he would be briefed later by FEMA and the National Weather Service.
The White House has already spoken to 26 state governors in affected regions, he said. “It’s not like a snowy day when you were a kid, it’s serious stuff,” Biden said.
“It’s dangerous and threatening, the weather is really, really bad and it goes from Oklahoma all the way to Wyoming and Maine. … So I encourage everyone to heed local warnings,” Biden said in the oval office.
“If you all have travel plans, leave now, it’s no joke. I’m sending my staff…if they’re planning to leave tomorrow, I tell them to leave now.”
A massive storm system is expected to bring blizzard conditions to the Great Lakes region, up to 2 inches (5 cm) of rain followed by a flash freeze on the East Coast, and wind gusts of 60 miles (100 km) per hour and bitter cold as far south as the Mexican border.
Biden, who plans to stay in Washington for the Christmas vacation on Sunday, said he would be briefed later by FEMA and the National Weather Service.
The White House has already spoken to 26 state governors in affected regions, he said. “It’s not like a snowy day when you were a kid, it’s serious stuff,” Biden said.
