Newsman: The rarely seen deadly freezing winds, ice and snow has caused at least 30 deaths across US. A winter storm in many regions in the US forced millions of people in shelter and left them without power. Texas paralyzed by an unusual snow storm. Millions of Americans still remain under some form of winter storm warning, with record low temperatures still to come.
“Hundreds of daily low maximum and minimum temperatures have been/will be broken during this prolonged ‘polar plunge’,” the agency said.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said more than 150 million Americans were now under winter storm warnings. Deaths have been reported in Tennessee, Texas, Kentucky and Louisiana, according to the national weather service. US President Joe Biden has approved a state of emergency in Texas, which has seen some of its coldest temperatures in more than 30 years – some areas hit 0F (-18C) on Sunday. In North Carolina, a tornado spawned by the same storm left three dead and 10 injured early on Tuesday morning. Officials there say rescues are ongoing.On Tuesday, the National Weather Service reported that over 73% of the US is currently covered by snow and bitterly cold air will remain entrenched across a large swath of the U.S., with another round of snow and ice expected to hit the Southern Plains, mid-south, mid-Atlantic and northeast this week.
The high demand for electricity in the state has caused the power grid to fail. Rolling blackouts have been imposed in some areas to conserve power for hospitals, police and fire stations, leaving over 4.3 million people without electricity. The state is bracing for another icy storm later on Tuesday.Millions in Texas were struggling to stay warm Wednesday, many going for days without power, as continued winter weather, bitter cold and the looming threat of more ice meant the blackouts might last until the end of the week. Icy roads have also led to a spate of traffic accidents and people have been advised to avoid travel where possible.
Gov. Greg Abbott called for an investigation of the electrical grid operator over the outages.
“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours,” he said in a statement. Far too many Texans are without power and heat for their homes as our state faces freezing temperatures and severe winter weather. This is unacceptable.”
By midday, around 4.3 million people did not have electricity, according to tracking site poweroutage.us, as winter weather advisories, warnings or watches stretched from Texas to Virginia.
Severe winter weather across large parts of the country prompted a warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Tuesday of “widespread delays” in Covid-19 vaccine shipments over the next few days, especially out of the FedEx facility in Memphis and UPS facility in Louisville, which serve as vaccine shipping hubs for multiple states.
Six people were killed in a pileup on an icy Fort Worth highway, Texas Thursday, and a woman and child died of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in Houston on Tuesday. Officials said it appeared a car was running in an attached garage for heat because the power was out.
Four died of carbon monoxide poisoning in Clackamas County, Oregon, over the holiday weekend, according to the sheriff’s office, as the state also experienced power outages.
Officials pleaded with the public to be careful using gas-powered generators, remind them to never use them inside and to avoid using ranges or ovens to keep warm or idling cars inside garages for heat even if the door is open.
The freezing storm has even reached northern and central parts of Mexico where millions of people have experienced a second day of intermittent power cuts.
Mexico’s electricity operator has introduced rotating blackouts in at least 12 states, including around the capital, Mexico City. Frozen pipelines have also disrupted the supply of natural gas from the US.
Homes in Texas are not normally insulated for cold weather, meaning that indoor temperatures in homes quickly dropped to freezing after heat systems failed. Frozen pipes also burst, despite attempts by some homeowners to insulate them from the cold using blankets.
In Fort Worth, members of another family were taken to hospital in a critical condition for suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.
An official in the city of Galveston said they had requested a refrigerated morgue lorry to deal with an expected influx of people who may die due to the cold.
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In Louisiana, some local authorities have imposed curfews to keep people off the icy roads. The state is also suffering power cuts and traffic disruption.
Oregon, which was hit by an ice storm, saw nearly 250,000 people and businesses without power on Tuesday.
The governor of Illinois issued a state of emergency on Tuesday after snow blanketed the state.
More snow, coupled with freezing rain, is forecast for the southern US on Tuesday. Weather officials say that as the storm departs, frigid low temperatures will be seen across the central and eastern US.
