It is a nightmare before Christmas.
The “one in a generation” storm that has crushed much of the USA officially became a deadly “bomb cyclone” on Friday – leaving greater than 1.5 million customers without power and making a travel nightmare for tens of millions hoping to return home for the vacations.
Winter Storm Elliott, which had already triggered a state of emergency in Latest York City that began at 6am on Friday, soon left greater than 200 million people on some form of maximum weather alert.
The National Weather Service said its map “shows considered one of the most important ranges of winter weather warnings and advisories on record”, affecting about two-thirds of the country.
![Cars stand in flood waters during a winter storm along the banks of the Hudson River in Piermont, New York.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/2022-12-23T162754Z_673164926_RC2NBY98RQJ6_RTRMADP_3_USA-WEATHER.jpg?w=1024)
On Friday, the storm brought a dramatic drop in temperature enough to be officially labeled a bombogenesis, a meteorological phenomenon normally referred to as a “bomb cyclone,” confirmed Geoff Bansen of the Fox Forecast Center to The Post.
By Friday, it had already been blamed for multiple fatalities, including at the least three in Kentucky and a driver in Kansas City, Missouri, who died after falling right into a stream. One other man was killed within the Portland, Oregon area when a semi-truck crashed into the positioning of the previous wreck.
Authorities fear that number could rise, and widespread power outages make it nearly not possible for many individuals to stay warm safely.
![This NOAA satellite image shows North America's weather patterns on December 23, 2022 at 10:56 AM EST.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/bomb-cyclone-winter-storm-generation-01.jpg?w=1024)
![Travelers check canceled flights at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/bomb-cyclone-winter-storm-generation-06.jpg?w=1024)
On Friday afternoon, PowerOutage.us reported that it had “greater than 1.5 million electricity customers across the USA,” including greater than 100,000 in Latest York City.
Most of the outages were blamed on fierce winds, which reached speeds in excess of 80 mph in some areas, including upstate Latest York.
Meanwhile, town of Havre, Montana, recorded a record temperature of minus 37 degrees, Bansen said, so cold it could cause frostbite in lower than five minutes.
![A map of the freezing temperatures expected in the US for the holiday season.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/bomb-cyclone-latest-updates-winter-storm-17.jpg?w=1015)
![A plow truck drives along West Main Street in Springville, New York](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/bomb-cyclone-winter-storm-generation-10.jpg?w=1024)
Denver was the coldest in 32 years on Thursday, when temperatures dropped to minus 24 degrees – while parts of Florida are likely to have their coldest Christmas on record, Fox meteorologist said.
The storm meant many of the US could see a white Christmas, and greater than 53% of the country got at the least some snow, Fox meteorologist said.
But many is not going to see it with their families as greater than 9,900 US flights have been canceled or delayed until early Friday afternoon.
![A man makes his way through the flood waters at Portland Pier during a powerful winter storm.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/bomb-cyclone-winter-storm-generation-08.jpg?w=1024)
This left many stranded at major airports, including La Guardia, where about a 3rd of scheduled flights to and from the Big Apple were cancelled.
Amongst them were the Kannengiessers, an Australian family of 4 who’re set to spend Christmas with friends in Nashville, Tennessee.
“We got up at 3:30am to make certain we got there on time – it was canceled 5 minutes before boarding,” dad Marc Kannengiesser, 50, told The Post about the long-booked flight.
“We do not know anyone here,” he said of the potential for an unexpected Latest York Christmas.
The tragic conditions make a visit to Music City seem not possible not only due to plane.
“There aren’t any cars, no trains, no buses, we’re principally stuck. Christmas is not where we would prefer it to be,” complained Marc’s wife Fiona, also 50.
![A few graphics showing today's storm and weekend.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/bomb-cyclone-winter-storm-graphics-05.jpg?w=1024)
Justin Schot, 41, told The Post it was hard to describe how painful “the considered being home for Christmas” was in Nashville after his flights for him, his wife and three children were repeatedly canceled.
“We have now a family [waiting in Nashville] out of town with recent kids we have not even met yet. We’re trying to get in there so we will get to know these kids. We’re trying the whole lot we will, every option,” he said.
Still: “Worse, we’ll stay here. There are many hotels, he said.
![Mist rises over Chicago and Lake Michigan at sunrise on December 23, where the temperature has reached -6°C.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/bomb-cyclone-winter-storm-graphics-11.jpg?w=1024)
Carlos Garcia, 48, said he, his wife and two teenage children “slept upstairs in Terminal C, in seats” after their flight to Vegas was overbooked.
Many made their way to Penn Station in hopes of getting out by train – only for a lot of to be canceled as well. Amtrak canceled dozens of trains over Christmas, including trips from Latest York to Chicago.
“At this point, I have been traveling for over 24 hours,” Vermont student Audrey Olson, 20, said of the cancellation of two connecting flights on her trip home from studying abroad in Ireland.
![Temperatures have already dropped 50 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas, with wind gusts reaching 30-50 mph.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/bomb-cyclone-winter-storm-graphics-01.jpg?w=1024)
As a substitute, she headed to Penn in hopes of catching an Amtrak train to Albany, where her parents would meet her to go to Burlington for the last three hours.
“The airline has my bag…I do not know the way or after I’ll get it back,” she said of her unexpected adventure.
A Florida couple who were trying to get to Kingston, Latest York for his or her son’s first Christmas in 10 years said they were delayed by unexpected train cancellations.
![Heavy snowfall in Buffalo, New York as an extreme winter storm continues.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/bomb-cyclone-winter-storm-generation-12.jpg?w=1024)
“After we travel, we all the time hit disaster,” said 67-year-old Sandra, adding optimistically, “We’ll get there eventually.”
Others grappled with the dilemma of selecting safety over a healthy family vacation.
“My family is calling, they need me home for Christmas, but additionally they want me to be protected,” said Ashley Sherrod, who had planned to fly from Nashville, Tennessee, to Flint, Michigan until her flight was cancelled.
“Christmas is starting to suck, for lack of a greater word.”
With postal wires