Partes del país se preparan para cerrar el año con condiciones invernales severas que podrían afectar a millones de estadounidenses. Un sistema invernal ya impacta al norte del país, desde el Medio Oeste hasta Nueva Inglaterra, trayendo temperaturas peligrosamente bajas, nieve y condiciones complicadas en carreteras y aeropuertos.

Meteorólogos advierten que en algunas zonas del norte, la sensación térmica podría descender hasta 20 grados bajo cero, mientras que en la región de los Grandes Lagos y el Medio Oeste se espera más nieve para la despedida de año e incluso para el viernes.

En Minnesota, autoridades reportaron más de 400 incidentes de vehículos que se salieron de la carretera debido al hielo. Algunas áreas del estado acumularon hasta siete pulgadas de nieve. En Illinois, el mismo sistema provocó al menos un tornado el domingo, el cual impactó una zona residencial.

La tormenta también ha causado retrasos y cancelaciones en aeropuertos. Este lunes se reportaron alrededor de 5,000 vuelos retrasados y 500 cancelados en aeropuertos como Minneapolis, Chicago y Newark, afectando a miles de pasajeros durante uno de los periodos de viaje más intensos de la temporada navideña.

Mientras tanto, en el sur de California, los vientos de Santa Ana se intensificaron en las últimas horas, con ráfagas de hasta 70 millas por hora en algunas zonas, provocando emergencias y caída de ramas sobre líneas eléctricas.

Y hacia el sur del país, se anticipa un marcado descenso de temperaturas. En partes de Florida, los termómetros podrían caer a entre 20 y 30 grados Fahrenheit en las próximas horas.

Expertos señalan que estos eventos climáticos están directamente relacionados con el fenómeno de La Niña, cuyos efectos podrían extenderse hasta al menos febrero del próximo año.

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CNN

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN

(CNN) — Most US states are experiencing high or very high flu activity, and levels continue to increase nationwide.

“Flu season is just getting started, so I think it’s really hard to say exactly what it’s going to look like,” Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CNN on Tuesday. “What we’re seeing right now is a very rapid escalation of cases.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there have been at least 7,500,000 illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations, and 3,100 deaths from flu so far this season, according to an update published by the agency on Tuesday with data through December 20. At least eight children have died from flu so far this season.

Among the states with the highest levels of flu activity are Colorado, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and South Carolina, according to the CDC.

Trends are increasing across key surveillance metrics: laboratory testing, outpatient health care visits, hospitalizations and mortality are all higher than they were a week ago.

One surveillance system shows that flu hospitalizations doubled over the past week; more than 19,000 people were admitted to the hospital with flu during the most recent week, up from about 9,900 hospital admissions the week before.

The CDC says that “severity indicators remain low at this time, but influenza activity is expected to continue for several weeks.”

Influenza A(H3N2) viruses are the most commonly reported, and additional genetic testing suggests that a new flu variant — called subclade K — that caused early and busy flu seasons in other part of the world appears to be driving the vast majority of cases in the US.

The CDC recommends that everyone age 6 months and older get a flu vaccine each season, but vaccination rates have been decreasing in recent years. Only about 130 million flu vaccines have been distributed this season, CDC data shows, 13 million fewer doses than by this time last year. Additional data suggests that only about 17% of children and 23% of adults had gotten their seasonal flu vaccine by the end of November.

Osterholm encourages people who haven’t yet been vaccinated against flu to act quickly as the virus is “wiping through” the country.

“It’s not too late to get your flu shot,” he said. “It doesn’t guarantee you won’t get flu. It doesn’t guarantee that you still won’t get sick, but it surely is a big improvement on what the otherwise outcome could be of either being seriously ill or dying.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

The post Flu activity is increasing sharply across the US appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN

(CNN) — Most US states are experiencing high or very high flu activity, and levels continue to increase nationwide.

“Flu season is just getting started, so I think it’s really hard to say exactly what it’s going to look like,” Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CNN on Tuesday. “What we’re seeing right now is a very rapid escalation of cases.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there have been at least 7,500,000 illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations, and 3,100 deaths from flu so far this season, according to an update published by the agency on Tuesday with data through December 20. At least eight children have died from flu so far this season.

Among the states with the highest levels of flu activity are Colorado, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and South Carolina, according to the CDC.

Trends are increasing across key surveillance metrics: laboratory testing, outpatient health care visits, hospitalizations and mortality are all higher than they were a week ago.

One surveillance system shows that flu hospitalizations doubled over the past week; more than 19,000 people were admitted to the hospital with flu during the most recent week, up from about 9,900 hospital admissions the week before.

The CDC says that “severity indicators remain low at this time, but influenza activity is expected to continue for several weeks.”

Influenza A(H3N2) viruses are the most commonly reported, and additional genetic testing suggests that a new flu variant — called subclade K — that caused early and busy flu seasons in other part of the world appears to be driving the vast majority of cases in the US.

The CDC recommends that everyone age 6 months and older get a flu vaccine each season, but vaccination rates have been decreasing in recent years. Only about 130 million flu vaccines have been distributed this season, CDC data shows, 13 million fewer doses than by this time last year. Additional data suggests that only about 17% of children and 23% of adults had gotten their seasonal flu vaccine by the end of November.

Osterholm encourages people who haven’t yet been vaccinated against flu to act quickly as the virus is “wiping through” the country.

“It’s not too late to get your flu shot,” he said. “It doesn’t guarantee you won’t get flu. It doesn’t guarantee that you still won’t get sick, but it surely is a big improvement on what the otherwise outcome could be of either being seriously ill or dying.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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Los vientos de Santa Ana persistirán en Ventura hasta el martes. Hay una Advertencia de Viento vigente hasta las 3 p.m.; sin embargo, estos vientos serán considerablemente más débiles que los del día anterior. Se esperan ráfagas cercanas a 50 mph y vientos sostenidos de 20 a 30 mph. La cobertura de nubes aumentará antes de la próxima tormenta. Podrían presentarse algunos chubascos dispersos y muy ligeros la mañana del martes, pero la mayor parte de la lluvia llegará en la víspera de Año Nuevo. Las temperaturas máximas subirán a los 60 y bajos 70 grados.

Los vientos cambiarán de dirección y la lluvia llegará temprano en la mañana de la víspera de Año Nuevo. Se espera un flujo del sur que favorecerá el transporte de humedad, lo que significa que las playas orientadas al sur y las zonas de mayor altitud recibirán el mayor impacto de la tormenta. Los acumulados de lluvia se estiman entre 1 y 3 pulgadas en las playas y hasta 5 pulgadas en zonas montañosas. Los vientos podrían intensificarse por momentos y, con suelos vulnerables, más árboles y ramas podrían caer o romperse. La lluvia más intensa se espera la noche de la víspera de Año Nuevo, justo cuando muchas personas podrían estar saliendo. Extreme precauciones y maneje con mayor cuidado, las vías estarán resbaladizas y podría haber acumulación ligera de agua en calles pequeñas.

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