Brutal cold has been hitting the United States for more than a week and the consequences are dramatic: at least 55 people have died since Sunday.
In Tennessee alone, the Department of Health confirmed 14 weather-related deaths, including in Nashville.
The legendary city of musicians, which rarely experiences snowfall, has been covered by more than 23 cm of snow since Sunday.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating three fatal car crashes caused by the storm, more than 200 crashes involving injuries and more than 600 others without injuries.
Five people were struck and killed by a tractor-trailer in northeastern Pennsylvania after leaving their vehicle following another crash on slippery roads.
In Washington state, five people died of hypothermia in four days, three of whom were homeless.
Family electrocuted while getting out of car, baby hospitalized
At least 10 people have died in the Portland, Oregon area.
Three members of the same family lost their lives on Wednesday in the city after a live power line, torn by a falling tree branch, fell on their vehicle.
According to the Portland Fire Department, the two adults and the teenager died when they got out of the car.
“When the individuals' feet touched the ground and their bodies contacted the car, they became part of the active electrical circuit that resulted in their deaths,” Portland Fire said.
A resident who tried to help them snatched the baby that one of the adults was carrying in his arms and took him to safety.
He was hospitalized.
Daniel Buck, who lives steps from where the deaths occurred in Northeast Portland, told The Associated Press that he heard an explosion, then saw a person running out of the SUV hit by burning power line.
When he approached, he saw this person and two others lying on the ground about 10 m from the car.
One of the victims' pants were on fire.
“They were all in contact with the live wire, so no one could reach them to help them,” said Buck, who described the victims as residents of a nearby apartment.
A “burst of arctic air” continues to trigger heavy snowfall and frigid temperatures from coast to coast, with the West and Northeast bracing for more snow.
As of Thursday evening, more than 100 million Americans across 30 states were on climate alert, or nearly 30% of the American population.
Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories issued by the National Weather Service extend from Montana to the New Jersey coastline, in the path of a storm system.
Temperatures plunged as low as -18C in some areas, creating the greatest demand for electricity on record in the seven states served by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
🥶 Another arctic air outbreak is forecast across much of the central and eastern US through this weekend.
This event will not be as frigid as the last outbreak, however, temperatures and wind chills will still be hazardous across a large part of the nation.
pic.twitter.com/1nTNBat49
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) January 18, 2024
Heavy snowfall is still expected in the Ohio Valley, and in the Appalachians and Rocky Mountains.
After an unprecedented streak of 701 days with less than 2 cm of snow, the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington were covered in thick white.
With more than 10 cm of snow, federal government offices closed in Washington DC, for the first time since January 7, 2022 due to weather conditions. 10 to 15 cm of snow could fall this Friday in Philadelphia.
As for the west coast, torrential rain is expected over the weekend.