At least 35 fatalities have been recorded in American states impacted by severe cold, as per local authorities. The National Weather Service issued alerts for extreme, hazardous cold on Tuesday morning spanning from Texas to Pennsylvania, where certain regions were projected to experience wind chills as low as minus -29 C. A significant portion of the U.S. was not expected to reach temperatures above freezing throughout Tuesday, with temperatures dropping further overnight. Thermometers in northern Florida were anticipated to plummet to -3.9 C late Tuesday into early Wednesday.
The harsh cold persisted following storms that brought heavy snow across over 2,100 kilometers from Arkansas to New England over the weekend and Monday, leaving parts of the South covered in dangerous ice. Lisa Patterson originally planned to remain at her family’s residence in Nashville when the massive winter storm hit the Northeast and parts of the South over the weekend. However, power loss, fallen trees blocking their driveway, and inadequate heating from their wood stove forced Patterson and her husband, along with their dog, to be rescued and relocated to a warming shelter.
The Patterson family was just one of many households in Tennessee and other Southern regions seeking refuge in warming shelters as crews endeavored to restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes. A new influx of arctic air was expected to bring freezing temperatures to areas already blanketed in snow and ice on Tuesday.
In a tragic incident near Bonham, Texas, three siblings aged six, eight, and nine lost their lives on Monday after falling through ice on a private pond, as reported by Fannin County Sheriff Cody Shook on Tuesday. Additional fatalities included individuals struck by snowplows in Massachusetts and Ohio, fatal sledding accidents in Arkansas and Texas, and the discovery of a woman’s body covered in snow in Kansas. New York City authorities disclosed that eight individuals were found deceased outdoors during the frigid weekend.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear cautioned about the potential for dangerously low temperatures that could lead to frostbite or hypothermia in as little as 10 minutes outdoors. Meteorologists warned of the likelihood of another winter storm hitting parts of the East Coast over the upcoming weekend.
As of Tuesday morning, there were still 550,000 power outages nationwide, predominantly in the South, where freezing rain caused significant damage to trees and power lines, resulting in widespread outages in northern Mississippi and parts of Tennessee. Officials cautioned that power restoration could take several days.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves reported substantial damage to homes and public roads following the state’s worst ice storm since 1994, with at least 14 homes and 20 public roads affected. The University of Mississippi canceled classes for the entire week due to treacherous ice conditions on its Oxford campus.
New York City experienced its snowiest day in years, with neighborhoods receiving between 20 to 38 centimeters of snow, prompting the closure of the nation’s largest public school system. In Nashville, Nathan Hoffner sent his four-year-old son to stay with his son’s mother after their rental home lost power on Sunday afternoon. Hoffner and his roommate endured the cold by layering clothing and blankets overnight, with the temperature inside the house dropping significantly by morning.