LAGOS JANUARY 27TH (NEWSRANGERS)-This weekend’s winter storm and ensuing bitter cold have left at least 25 people dead and caused prolonged power outages for hundreds of thousands, particularly across the southern US.
The damage from ice and cold was most significant in a swath stretching from east Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi and into Nashville, Tennessee. Power officials in Nashville said to expect lengthy outages from the “historic” storm, and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves deployed up to 500 members of the state’s National Guard to assist.
“It’s somewhat like whack-a-mole. Every time one of the utility companies and power companies gets a large group back online, we have another tree fall or another limb fall,” Reeves said Monday. “We will get through this, but we’re not going to get through it today. And we’re not going to get through it tomorrow. This is going to take time.”
Meanwhile, around 175 million people are under cold alerts for frigid temperatures that will linger for days. The brutal cold is setting new record daily lows in the Plains. More records are expected to fall in the South and East as the cold lasts through at least this week.
Meteorologists are also eyeing the potential for another significant winter storm to hit the East Coast this weekend, although its strength and path remain unclear.
At least two dozen storm- and cold-related deaths were reported across several states, including Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Some have been attributed to hypothermia, while others were associated with snow shoveling, officials say. Several other deaths are also under investigation.
Among the deaths are three elementary school boys who drowned in an icy pond in Bonham, Texas, near the border with Oklahoma, according to CNN affiliate WOAI. It’s unclear how the boys fell in the pond and when they died. CNN has reached out to local officials for details.
Also in Texas, two 16-year-old girls riding a sled pulled by a Jeep hit a tree, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition, according to officials. And in Arkansas, a 17-year-old boy was killed after striking a tree while riding a sled being pulled by an ATV, the local sheriff told CNN affiliate KATV.
The most significant infrastructure damage was to the South, where ice made roads slick, snapped tree limbs and weighed down power lines.
As of Tuesday morning, hundreds of thousands of electric customers have regained power, according to tracking website PowerOutage.US, a drastic improvement from the million customers who suffered from outages at one point. But more than half a million customers remained in the dark, including around 175,000 in Tennessee, around 140,000 in Mississippi and just under 100,000 in Louisiana.
CNN
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