“炸弹旋风”将影响美东4千万人

Forty-million people along the U.S. East Coast are bracing themselves for what weather forecasters are calling a "bomb cyclone" - a massive winter storm blowing through the Atlantic Ocean.

The brutal winter weather has already brought snow to the southeastern United States, which is not used to dealing with wintry conditions.

The approaching storm could dump more than 20 centimeters of snow on Boston, Massachusetts where schools are closed Thursday.

"Our prime focus will be cleaning sidewalks and main arteries, roadways and responding to public safety requests... and responding to people who call in... as we move forward I\'m asking people to be patient, " Boston mayor, Marty Walsh said.

The frigid conditions already gripping a large swath of the United States will get a jolt from the storm, which is expected to bring hurricane-force winds to the New England coast and into Canada.

Forecasters say much of the country can expect another wave of dangerously-cold weather later this week before temperatures moderate.

“炸弹气旋”令美国通常气候温暖的东南部地区也开始降雪。

麻萨诸塞州的波士顿的积雪可能会高20多厘米。当地的学校星期四都停课。

波士顿市长马迪·沃尔什说：“我们的工作重点是清理便道、主要干线和道路，并对公共安全需要及打电话求助的民众做出反应。在我们应对人民需要的时候，我请大家要耐心”。

今年入冬以来，美国大片地区都一直处在严寒之中，而这场暴风雪将给新英格兰地区以及加拿大带来飓风级的大风。

气象预报说，美国大部分地区本周末将迎来另一波严寒天气，然后气温才会逐渐回暖。