Police told the Chicago Tribune that three people died in the crash and pictures from the scene showed injured people at the scene.
[From article]
At least three people have died after 'total whiteout' conditions and severe winds caused a huge 50-car pile-up on a highway in Pennsylvania.
The I-78 outside Harrisburg, in Lebanon County, was a scene of carnage this afternoon, with tankers, lorries and regular cars all involved in the massive crash.
Police told the
Chicago Tribune that three people died in the crash and pictures from the scene showed bloodied people being stretchered towards air ambulances.
The smash came after snowstorm alerts were issued for the Philadelphia area, as well as swathes of the north east of the United States.
[. . .]
Dozens of vehicles collided as 30mph winds battered the road, which has since been shut down on both sides after the horror crash.
As well as the three dead, ore than 70 people had been taken to hospitals and another 70 were taken to a shelter set up at a fire station. At least three are in a critical condition.
The pile-up on Saturday morning came amid poor visibility, with roads packed with families getting away for the long weekend.
Ashley Fisher was driving on the I-78 with her two daughters when she was turned around by police.
'The snow just started and it was a total whiteout. The car in front of us just disappeared,' she told
NBC News.
[. . .]
'We were able to stop, but a couple cars slid and hit the shoulder.'
She added that the whole westbound side of the highway was 'just a mess'.
'It just turned real white,' Raul Jardine told the Tribune.
He slowed down when visibility became so poor that he could only see brake lights ahead of him, causing his car to be rear-ended
The mayhem came as the north east was hit by an arctic blast freezing temperatures and biting windchill struck.
[. . .]
Temperatures plummeted to below zero in New York state as windchill made it feel as cold as -24F.
New York City itself was 19F as people woke this morning, but it felt more like 4F as a polar vortex began to sweep across the east of the United States.
Windchill will make it feel like it is -19F in Manhattan later on Saturday and Valentine's Day could be just as cold.
Mayor Bill be Blasio warned New Yorkers to take 'extreme precautions' today and on Sunday, which could see the coldest temperatures in a decade for much of the Northeast as forecasters warned of 'life-threatening' subzero conditions.
In Buffalo it was -1F, with a mammoth windchill making it feel 21 degrees colder. That temperatures was expected to drop another couple of degree this morning as flurries of snow came down.
A wind chill advisory was in effect for New York City beginning Saturday afternoon and continuing to noon Sunday, with the forecast predicting temperatures of 2F.
Wind chills are expected to drop 18F to 24F below across the region and wind gusts may reach 45mph.
But the Big Apple will have it easy compared to the likes Boston, with a low at 2 degrees below zero, and temperatures in Worcester, Massachusetts to drop as low as -11F.
[. . .]
Weather Channel Forecaster Michael Palmer said anyone who dares step outside Sunday morning will feel like they're 'walking into a freezer'.
'This will be the coldest air for more than a decade,' he told
NBC News.
The National Weather Service warned that residents take precautions to protect themselves from frostbite or hypothermia conditions.
De Blasio told New York residents to heed cold-weather warnings, adding that city workers would also bring people living on the street to shelters or hospitals.
The anticipated temperatures were so cold the Central Park Conservancy decided to cancel the annual Central Park Ice Festival, meant to be held on Saturday.
It was the second time the weather dampened fun in Central Park.
Last month a free winter sports day called Winter Jam was canceled because of Storm Jonas.
Lighter winds and sunshine will greet the city on Sunday, but temperatures are still expected to be in the single digits, according to
AccuWeather.
Meanwhile, a midwinter heat wave is smashing records in
California.
Temperatures on the southern west coast rocketed into the 90s for the second consecutive day on Tuesday even as the warming Santa Ana winds that came in on Saturday began to fade.
Forecasters said strong high pressure will continue through the week, keeping afternoon temperatures well above normal until at least Valentine's Day on Sunday.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3445811/Total-whiteout-causes-fatal-FIFTY-vehicle-pile-Pennsylvania-highway-polar-vortex-sweeps-north-east-New-York-braces-windchill-22F.html
Three dead as 'total whiteout' causes fatal FIFTY-car pile-up on Pennsylvania highway and polar vortex sweeps across the north east, bringing record-breaking low temperatures
More than 50 cars were involved in a fatal crash on Pennsylvania's I-78, with at least 70 people taken to hospital
Police said three people died in the horror smash which came amid a 'total whiteout' on Saturday morning
Polar vortex is sweeping its away across the north east of the United States, with temperatures plummeting
Biting wind chill meant it felt like an icy 4F in Manhattan, while in Buffalo it was -1F, with wind chill making it feel up to 23 degrees colder
Wind chills are expected to drop 20 to 40 degrees below across region that will feel like 'walking in a freezer'
For more New York news and weather visit
www.dailymail.co.uk/nyc
By
OLLIE GILLMAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:24 EST, 13 February 2016 | UPDATED: 16:53 EST, 13 February 2016
