By Jim Salter and Claire Rush — The Associated Press
The brutal cold could turn into a deadly challenge on Saturday, amid a continuous wave of Arctic storms that has lashed much of the country with blinding snow, freezing rain and hurricane-force winds.
From New York to Louisiana, governors declared a state of emergency amid forecasts of snow and freezing temperatures. In St. Louis, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned of unusually "life-threatening" cold. Sub-zero temperature records could be broken Saturday and Sunday in the northern and central Plains, amid heavy snow, hurricane-force winds and blizzards.
"Including wind chill, temperatures will drop below 30 degrees across a wide area from the northern Rocky Mountains to northern Kansas, with temperatures possible in the -50s in the Dakotas," the NWS said in a statement Saturday.
About 185,000 customers lost power in Michigan on Saturday, and about 91,000 people in Wisconsin also lost that public service, according to poweroutage.us. Outages were also reported from Virginia to New Hampshire.
[Evacuation of migrants to school due to storm in New York sparks controversy]
Bad weather affected campaign events in Iowa, the GOP's top-vote state. With a blizzard warning covering most of the state, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump tweaked their schedules ahead of Monday's presidential vote.
The near-record cold in Kansas City will make Saturday night's NFL playoff game frigid, when the Chiefs host Miami. Fans will be able to bring blankets and first aid stations have been set up at Arrowhead Stadium. On Sunday, Buffalo fans will have to contend with 30 inches of snow and hurricane-force winds when the Bills host Pittsburgh.
Some areas of the northeast experienced flooding. Emergency crews helped evacuate some residents from their homes in Paterson, New Jersey, early Friday as the Passaic River began to overflow. The new storm, combined with another earlier in the week, caused flooding in Maine and New Hampshire as well.
Black ice caused by freezing rain caused accidents and paralyzed Kansas City, Missouri.
At the Double Cross Cattle Company, a ranch south of Roberts, Montana, Tyson Ropp used an axe Friday morning to cut the inches of ice that covered a watering hole so his bulls could drink water.
[Winter storm brings snow, hail and rain to several northeastern states this weekend]
"It's Montana," he added with a shrug.
But the weather won't spare any part of the country this weekend, according to meteorologists.
In the county that includes the city of Portland, Oregon, more accustomed to winter rain than ice and snow, officials declared a weather emergency and opened shelters for the homeless. The county and nonprofit groups distributed thousands of jackets, gloves, ponchos and other items this week.
In California, a high avalanche danger warning has been issued for some areas of the Sierra Nevada, including the Lake Tahoe area, where an avalanche at a ski resort killed a man on Wednesday. The same thing happened in Idaho, where a man was presumed dead in an avalanche on Thursday.
"All U.S. states are under NWS watch, warning or advisory," the weather service announced Friday as it released a color-coded map showing parts of the states under threat of storms, winds, flooding, blizzards and landslides.
[Delays on roads and airports from Texas to Nebraska due to snowfall]
Chicago was expecting several inches of snow over the weekend, with wind gusts up to 50 mph and a wind chill as low as -15 degrees Fahrenheit that could cause frostbite on exposed skin in just 15 minutes, the weather service warned.
Authorities said a suburban Chicago man had died from exposure, apparently becoming the first cold-related death of the season. The man, whose identity was not released, was found Thursday in the suburb of Schiller Park, the Cook County medical examiner's office said.
Advocates worried about the growing population of immigrants sent to Chicago from the U.S.-Mexico border, more than 26,000 have arrived since last year. On Friday, dozens of them were staying in eight parked "thermal buses" to avoid sleeping rough while they waited for places in city-run shelters.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday released a letter pleading with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stop sending migrants to Chicago during the dangerous storm.
"At least pause these life-saving transports," the letter said.
[Warning of Snow Accumulation in California Due to Winter Storms]
In response, Abbott refused to halt what he called voluntary travel "until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border."
Abbott urged Texans to prepare for a cold day on Monday.