CHARLESTON, SC – This week winter weather hit the East Coast hard; a rare winter storm brought record-low temperatures to the Southeast United States, while the rest of the coast—from Virginia to Maine—prepared for the eventuality of a “bomb cyclone”—a violent cold weather phenomenon approaching the strength of a category 1 hurricane.

According to a Reuters report, the governors of Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina have all declared a state of emergency—warning residents of unsafe travel conditions, the threat of widespread power outages, and unseasonable and potentially dangerous freezing temperatures.

The U.S. National Weather Service issued a series of blizzard warnings, extending from the Chesapeake north to the Canadian border, with winter weather advisories—including freeze and hard freeze warnings from Florida to Texas—blanketing the vast majority of the Eastern half of the U.S. And, a CNN report noted that severe weather alerts are in place for each and every East Coast state.

Already, ground and air travel have been affected, with runways at the Charleston International Airport in South Carolina reportedly closing on Wednesday, and Highway Patrol officers reporting a number of accidents throughout the region.

AndNowUKnow will continue to report of the ways in which this and other severe weather formations affect the produce industry.