Winter weather continues to chill parts of US
Residents of Memphis were urged to boil water, and New Yorkers have been warned that roads could be covered with dangerous black ice this weekend as brutally cold and inclement weather continue to sweep across parts of the United States.
Bitterly frigid air spilled into the Midwest from Canada on Friday, and several states were under advisories as forecasters warned that wind chills dipping to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 degrees Celsius) could be common through Sunday morning.
Heavier-than-forecast snow fell in New York City, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. on Friday. Storms have walloped the US Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Plains, South and Northeast with low temperatures, heavy snow, ice storms, freezing rain and high winds for the past two weeks.
With a wind chill, temperatures are expected to drop as low as 15 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-26 C) in large portions of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Kansas, the National Weather Service (NWS) predicted.
The bracing weekend weather follows a series of storms blamed for at least 55 deaths across the country, many of them involving hypothermia or road accidents.
Tennessee recorded 19 deaths alone. They included a 25-year-old man who was found dead on the floor of a mobile home in Lewisburg after a space heater overturned and turned off, said Bob Johnson, chief deputy for the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.
Days of cold broke so many water mains in Memphis, Tennessee, that water pressure fell throughout the city. On Friday, Memphis Light, Gas & Water urged all of its more than 400,000 residents to boil water for drinking or teeth brushing or use bottled supplies.
It wasn’t clear how long the advisory would be in force. While some 50 ruptures were repaired, the utility’s chief Doug McGowen warned of new leaks emerging.
In West Virginia, advisories and warnings were issued on Saturday because of continued fierce weather. The weather service said some regions could see up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of additional snow with winds gusting to 40 miles per hour (64 kilometers per hour) and wind chill driving down temperatures as low as 20 below zero (-29 C).
In Washington, D.C., snow fell softly, and the streets around the US Capitol were silent. Schools closed for the second time in a week, and the federal government was on a two-hour delay. However, President Joe Biden still welcomed mayors from around the country to the White House for the US Conference of Mayors.
In Buffalo, New York, lake-enhanced snow finally moved out after burying parts of the city and some suburbs in five feet of snow in five days.
Meanwhile, Michigan City, Indiana, received 17 inches (43 centimeters) of lake-effect snow. It later eased as a low-pressure system moved away, but the weather service warned that “much colder air wraps in behind it,” and urged drivers to watch out for patches of slick and treacherous black ice.
On the West Coast, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on Thursday declared a statewide emergency following deadly ice storms. The weather service reported that temperatures on Friday were finally above freezing for most areas, and ground snow and ice would slowly begin to melt.
More freezing rain was forecast on Saturday in the Columbia River Gorge, and the area was expected to remain near or below freezing through at least Sunday night. Trees and power lines already coated with ice could topple if they get more, the NWS warned.
“Stay safe out there over the next several days as our region tries to thaw out,” the agency said. “Chunks of falling ice will remain a hazard as well.”
Thousands have been without power since last weekend in parts of Oregon’s Willamette Valley because of storm damage. Despite work by repair crews, more than 63,000 customers were without electricity in the state as of Friday night, the poweroutage.us website showed.
The NWS said there could be a thaw next week, when the forecast calls for above-average temperatures across almost the whole country.