When huge Winter storm Lisa Patterson descended on the Northeast and parts of the South over the weekend, planning to stay at her family’s home in Nashville.
But after she and her husband lost power, trees fell on their driveway and their wood stove proved no match for the frigid temperatures, and the couple and their dog had to be rescued and moved to a warm shelter.
“It snowed there for about three weeks without me being able to get up and down my driveway because of the snow. I’m prepared for that. But this was unprecedented,” Patterson said.
The family was among many in Tennessee and other parts of the South who fled to warm shelters as crews worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes in the face of a new influx of Arctic air expected to bring freezing temperatures Tuesday in places already… Covered with snow And ice.
At least 30 deaths were reported in states hit by extreme cold, including two people run over by snowplows in Massachusetts and Ohio, fatal sledding accidents that claimed the lives of teenagers in Arkansas and Texas, and a woman whose body was found covered in snow in Kansas. In New York City, officials said eight people were found dead outdoors over the frigid weekend.
More than 30 centimeters of snow fell over 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) from Arkansas to New England, halting traffic, canceling thousands of flights and causing widespread school closures on Monday. Areas north of Pittsburgh saw up to 20 inches (50 cm) of snow and faced wind lows of 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 31 degrees Celsius) late Monday into Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.
More widespread record cold temperatures are expected Tuesday, with eastern Texas and even western Pennsylvania under extreme cold warnings, according to the National Weather Service. In Kentucky, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear warned that temperatures could be so cold that staying outside for as little as 10 minutes “could lead to frostbite or hypothermia.”
Forecasters said another winter storm is likely to hit parts of the East Coast this weekend.
There were still more than 550,000 power outages in the country on Monday night, according to Reuters. poweroutage.com. Most of them occurred in the South, where freezing rain over the weekend snapped tree limbs and power lines, leading to power outages in northern Mississippi and parts of Tennessee. Officials warned that it may take several days for power to return.
in MississippiGov. Tate Reeves said Monday that at least 14 homes and 20 public roads sustained major damage following the state’s worst ice storm since 1994. The University of Mississippi canceled classes all week as its Oxford campus remained covered in treacherous ice.
New York City saw its snowiest day in years, with neighborhoods recording 8 to 15 inches (20 to 38 cm) of snow, forcing the nation’s largest public school system to close.
Meanwhile, bitter cold followed in the storm’s wake. Communities across the Midwest, South and Northeast woke up to subzero weather Monday. The average low temperature for the entire lower 48 states is expected to be minus 9.8 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 12.3 degrees Celsius) since January 2014.
Nathan Hoffner sent his 4-year-old son to stay with his son’s mother after the power went out at his rented Nashville home midday Sunday. He and his roommate wore clothes and blankets all night, and by the next morning the temperature inside the house had dropped dramatically.
“I saw my breath in the house,” Hoffner said.
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Cramon reported from Atlanta. Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press writers across the country contributed.