President Joe Biden participates in a briefing on winter storms across the United States in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Washington.
Patrick Semansky | AP
President Joe Biden warned Americans traveling ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend to be careful and leave early if possible to avoid the massive storm expected to hit several states Thursday night.
“This is not like a snow day when you were a kid,” Biden said. “This is serious stuff.”
Biden was briefed by officials from the National Weather Service and FEMA in the Oval Office Thursday morning. Large swaths of the continental U.S. are under blizzard, ice storm and winter storm warnings. Other areas are under wind chill, freeze and flood warnings.
The National Weather Service website warns of a “widespread and dangerous arctic blast” approaching which will cause “life-threatening cold” and “consume much of the lower 48.” The Midwest and Great Lakes regions are expected to receive the bulk of the snow fall with nearly all of the Great Plains region under a wind chill warning. The storm will “produce widespread disruptive and potentially crippling impacts across the central and eastern United States.”
“I encourage everyone, everyone to please heed the local warnings,” Biden said, adding information can be found on weather.gov.
Biden said the White House has tried to contact governors of 26 states slated to be hit by the storm.