A man shovels snow from a sidewalk in front of Mugshots Grill & Bar on Jan. 18 in downtown Florence, Ala.Dan Busey/The Associated Press
A new layer of ice formed over parts of Tennessee on Thursday after a deadly storm system blanketed the state in snow and sent temperatures plummeting earlier this week – part of a broader bout of bitter cold that has kept an icy grip on a swath of the U.S. stretching from Oregon to the Northeast.
Tennessee officials updated the state’s death toll to 14 at mid-week after the storm dumped more than 9 inches (23 centimetres) of snow since Sunday in parts of Nashville, where only about half that amount falls in a given year. Even after the snow tapered off, temperatures plunged below zero (minus-18 Celsius) in parts of the state, creating the largest power demand ever across the seven states served by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Thursday’s freezing rain began compounding the problems, adding a thin ice coating in some areas ahead of another plunge in temperatures over the weekend. Many schools and government offices have closed, including at the state Legislature, which cancelled in-person meetings all week.
Near Portland, Oregon, ice slowly began to melt in areas south of the city as warmer temperatures and rain arrived Thursday. But a National Weather Service advisory through Friday warned of freezing rain and gusting winds of up to 40 mph (65 kph) for parts of the state. Most Portland-area school districts cancelled classes for a third straight day due to slick roads and water damage from burst frozen pipes.
On Wednesday, a power line fell on a parked car in northeastern Portland, killing three people and injuring a baby during an ice storm that made driving in parts of the Pacific Northwest treacherous.
At least 30 deaths around the country have been attributed to the storms, with more in Tennessee than any other state. Storm-related deaths there included a box truck driver who slid into a tractor-trailer on the interstate, a man who fell through a skylight while cleaning his business’s roof, and a woman who died of hypothermia after being found unresponsive in her home.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol said it also had investigated three fatal car wrecks caused by the storm, more than 200 wrecks involving injuries and more than 600 others in which no one was hurt.
Shelby County, which includes Memphis and is the state’s largest county, has had the most deaths, five. But state and local officials have declined to release many details about the deaths, citing privacy concerns for the families involved. Tennessee’s Department of Health also refused to confirm accounts provided by local authorities of deaths likely tied to the 14-death total.
Cory Mueller, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Nashville, said that another cold spell is expected this weekend, making Monday the first chance for significant melting.
“At least in Tennessee, it takes a little bit to get the roads cleared up,” Mueller said by phone. “With the cold temperatures, that led to the snow staying on the roads much longer.”
Freezing temperatures spread as far south as North Florida on Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service said.
After several days of cold that kept all but the heartiest indoors in Chicago, Thursday brought some relief, with afternoon temperatures of around 25 degrees (minus-4 Celsius).
In western New York, the icy weather was blamed for three deaths in three days. Two people apparently died while clearing snow, and a third was struck by a vehicle while brushing some from his car, officials said Wednesday.
Five people were struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 81 in northeastern Pennsylvania after they left their vehicles following a separate crash on slick pavement.
In Kansas, authorities were investigating the death of an 18-year-old whose body was found Wednesday in a ditch about a half-mile (nearly a kilometre) from where his vehicle had become stuck in the snow.
And in Mississippi’s capital, Jackson, an estimated 12,000 customers were dealing with low water pressure Thursday, another setback for the city’s long-troubled water system.
Pipe breaks accelerated Wednesday when the frozen ground began to thaw and expand, putting pressure on buried pipes, Jackson water officials said. The water system experienced increased pressure due to a spike when people filled their bathtubs in response to what officials called a “deliberate misinformation campaign” on social media about the city’s water supply, Jackson water manager Ted Henifin said.
Memphis’ power and water company, meanwhile, asked customers to avoid non-essential water use due to high demand and low pressure, citing leaks. Memphis, Light, Gas and Water said it had repaired twenty-seven broken water mains since Saturday. Additionally, customers in two areas of Memphis were facing a precautionary boil-water advisory due to low pressure, though the utility’s president and CEO, Doug McGowen, said water quality wasn’t an issue.
Joshua Phillips was walking his dog, Maddie, on Thursday in Memphis as cars crawled by, skidding and sliding. He said he had shovelled snow off of his back patio and driveway, which had since been recoated with a thin layer of ice.
Phillips said he helped a man push his car, which was stuck in the ice.
“What I’m more concerned about are the people who are unhoused and are outside in storms like this and don’t have any place to go and don’t have the proper social services,” he said.
In Nashville, Will Compton of the non-profit Open Table Nashville, which helps homeless people, was canvassing downtown for people in need of supplies or rides to warming centres or shelters.
On Thursday, he stopped his SUV outside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to hand out warm hats, blankets, protein drinks and socks to a couple of men who were standing outside as an icy rain fell.
“People who are poor and people who are homeless are getting hit the hardest,” said Compton. He added: “A cold spell kind of predictably happens once a winter at least, and yet we’re still kind of caught scrambling and finding enough shelter beds for people.”
Aaron Robison, 62, has been staying at one of the city’s warming centres this week, saying that it has been pretty full.
He said that when he was younger the cold didn’t bother him, but now with arthritis in his hip and having to rely on two canes, he needed a place to stay during the extended cold snap.
“Thank God for people helping people on the streets. That’s a blessing,” he said.