WASHINGTON: A powerful winter storm sweeping across the central and eastern United States has killed at least 38 people in 14 states, as millions endure snow, ice, and dangerously low temperatures expected to persist until early February.
The storm, which began developing on Friday, blanketed vast regions with snow over the weekend, disrupting road travel, grounding flights, and triggering widespread power outages. Although snowfall eased by Monday, a wave of bitter cold has followed, keeping large parts of the country in a deep freeze.
As of Tuesday, more than 550,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity, prompting cities to mobilise emergency responders to protect residents — particularly homeless populations — from life-threatening conditions.
In New York City, where temperatures plunged to 8 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest in eight years, 10 storm-related deaths were reported. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the victims were found outdoors, though it remains unclear whether they were homeless.“Some of those who died had interacted with our shelter system in the past,” Mamdani said, stressing that investigations are ongoing. He announced the postponement of the city’s annual homeless population count, stating that outreach workers should prioritise bringing people indoors rather than collecting data.“Extreme weather is not a personal failure,” the mayor said.
Since January 19, approximately 500 homeless individuals have been placed in shelters, while outreach teams are checking every two hours on 350 high-risk individuals with underlying medical conditions.
In Nashville, Tennessee, officials described the situation as a historic ice storm. With temperatures expected to fall to 6 degrees Fahrenheit and wind chills dropping below zero, more than 135,000 properties in the city remain without power.
All city shelters and overflow facilities are at full capacity, housing roughly 1,400 people, as police, firefighters, and emergency workers continue round-the-clock operations. The Nashville Rescue Mission, which typically accommodates around 400 people nightly, reported serving up to 7,000 individuals during the cold snap.“When the weather is bad, people come in out of the cold,” a staff member told Reuters, noting the charity never turns anyone away.
Fatalities nationwide
Storm-related deaths across the country were attributed to hypothermia, exposure, and cardiac incidents while clearing snow.In Bonham, Texas, three young boys died after falling into an icy pond, while in Austin, a person succumbed to apparent hypothermia while sheltering at an abandoned gas station. Additional hypothermia-related deaths were reported in Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Michigan, according to local media.
Forecasters say nearly 200 million Americans remain under winter weather or cold warnings through at least February 1. Meteorologists are also monitoring the potential development of another winter storm that could impact the eastern United States later this weekend. David Roth of the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said conditions remain volatile as the country braces for continued extreme winter weather.
