Belzoni, miss… As another dangerous cold snap heads toward the southern United States on Friday, experts say the risk of hypothermia is rising for people in parts of Mississippi and Tennessee who are entering their sixth day trapped in their homes without power in… Sub-freezing temperatures.
“The longer you’re exposed to the cold, the worse it gets,” said Dr. Hans Haus, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Iowa. “The body can handle brief cold temperatures very well, but prolonged exposure is a problem.”
The National Weather Service said Arctic air moving southeast will bring down already frigid temperatures (minus 10 degrees Celsius) Friday evening in cities like Nashville, where more than 79,000 homes and businesses still lack power nearly a week after flooding. Huge storm Snow and ice fall across the eastern United States
Dr. Zheng Bin Ma, medical director of the University of Washington Medical Center’s Northwest Emergency Department, explained that those most at risk — the elderly, infants and those with underlying health conditions — may have started experiencing symptoms of hypothermia within hours of being exposed to the frigid temperatures. This includes everything from fatigue to difficulty speaking and memory loss.
But after about a week, the situation is approaching a turning point, he explained: Younger people who are generally healthy will likely start falling victim to these symptoms as well.
“Once the six, seven or 10-plus days have passed, even a healthy, resilient person will be more willing to experience some of those adverse effects of cold temperature,” he said.
Hundreds of National Guard troops mobilized on Thursday in Mississippi and Tennessee to remove debris and help people stranded in cars or stuck in homes.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said Guard troops were delivering meals, blankets and other supplies by trucks and helicopters. In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee said crews distributed more than 600 units of heating supplies and more than 2,200 gallons (8,328 liters) of gas and diesel.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said they have the largest number of linemen, crews and plant support workers in the city’s utility history as they work to restore power to everyone.
But the exact timeline for restoring electricity, especially in rural areas, remains unclear.
At least 85 people died in areas affected by the extreme cold from Texas to New Jersey. Nearly half of the deaths were reported in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. While some deaths are attributed to hypothermia, others are suspected to be related to exposure to carbon monoxide.
It’s important to make sure heat sources used indoors, including generators, don’t emit carbon monoxide, which can be deadly, said Dr. Abhi Mehrotra, an emergency medicine physician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
More than 230,000 homes and businesses were without power Thursday night, according to an outage tracking website poweroutage.us. The vast majority of them were in Mississippi and Tennessee, about 87,000 each.
Mississippi officials say it’s the worst in the state Winter storm Since 1994. About 80 warming centers have opened across the state, known as one of the poorest states in the country.
Forecasters say The weather is below freezing It will continue in the eastern United States until February and there is a high chance of that Heavy snow In the Carolinas, Virginia, and northeastern Georgia this weekend, and perhaps up to a foot (30 cm) in parts of North Carolina. Snow is also possible along the East Coast from Maryland to Maine.
The National Weather Service said there is a chance of freezing rain Thursday evening in parts of Mississippi, and light snow showers may fall in Nashville on Friday night. Meteorologists said that extreme cold and sub-zero wind chills (minus 18 degrees Celsius) represent the greatest danger.
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia, and Thanwala reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Jonathan Mathis and Travis Lawler in Nashville, Tennessee; Sarah Broomfield in Washington; Devi Shastri in Milwaukee and Haley Golden in Seattle contributed.