Bitter cold eases, but new arctic blast is due soon
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There’s a brief pause in the winter freeze for some today — but a new arctic blast of cold air is due as early as tomorrow.
Coverage on this live blog has ended. Bitterly cold temperatures that gripped large parts of the U.S., including areas unaccustomed to them, began to ease Wednesday — but another arctic blast is forecast for later this week.
The frigid air is expected to affect the eastern half of the country, the National Weather Service said.
“Although not as extreme as the first wave early this week, daytime highs on Friday across the Plains into the Mississippi Valley could be 20-30 degrees below normal, with wind making it feel even colder,” the meteorological agency said in a forecast discussion.
It will then go into the eastern part of the U.S. over the weekend.
The low in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday night is expected to be 9 degrees. Louisville, Kentucky, will reach a low that night of 6 degrees. And the low Saturday night in Memphis, Tennessee, was forecast to be 10 degrees.
In Chicago, no stranger to frigid temperatures, the low Saturday night could reach 3 degrees, and parts of northwest Indiana could get down to minus 3, the weather service there said.
The winter weather was still affecting the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Plains on Wednesday. Wind chill advisories covered parts of Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, as well as northern North Dakota, and winter weather advisories stretched from eastern Arkansas into Tennessee and Kentucky.
The weather turned deadly Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, when two adults and a teenager died after a live power line brought down by a tree branch covered the SUV they were in, the fire department there said. They died when they got out of the vehicle, their feet on the ground completing an electrical circuit, it said. A baby was rescued by a bystander and was not harmed.
3 dead after power line falls on SUV in Portland, Oregon
Two adults and a teenager were killed today after a tree branch brought down a live power line onto their SUV and they got out of the vehicle, the city’s fire department said.
A baby was rescued by a bystander and survived the incident, which happened around 11:42 a.m. PT, Portland Fire & Rescue said in a statement.
The three people killed were not identified in the statement. They died after their feet touched the ground and were found about 35 feet away from the SUV, the fire department said.
“When the feet of the individuals touched the ground, and their bodies were touching the car they became part of the active electrical circuit which resulted in their deaths,” the department said.
Someone in the community “grabbed the baby off one of the adults lying in the street,” and it was handed over to fire crews at the scene. The child was evaluated and unharmed, the department said.
People who are in vehicles hit by live wires should stay inside and call for help, it said, because the lines have to be de-energized first.
Portland got around 0.4 inches of ice in the recent winter storm, the National Weather Service there said today on social media. Winter storm warnings and advisories still covered other parts of Oregon and Washington this afternoon.
5 killed by tractor-trailer after they left vehicles on snowy Pennsylvania highway
SCRANTON, Pa. — Five people were struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 81 in snowy northeastern Pennsylvania after they had left their vehicles following another crash, state police said today.
A minivan had lost control and hit a median on the northbound interstate in Lackawanna County at about 5:30 p.m. yesterday. Four people got out of the van, as well as a person who had been following them in a separate car, police said. All were hit by the passing tractor-trailer.
The coroner, several fire departments and state police responded. County Coroner Timothy Rowland told WNEP-TV that all five people were from New York state.
Flight delays and cancellations across the U.S. have left some passengers trying to find their lost checked baggage, Joseph Olmo of NBC Washington reports.
Extremely cold winter weather is having an effect on sea creatures, including sea turtles, Sydney Hernandez of NBC affiliate KVEO in Brownsville, Texas, reports.
Staff members at Sea Turtle Inc. on South Padre Island, Texas, have been bringing the cold-stunned turtles to their facility, where they can rest in bins of water and regulate their body temperatures before they are released.
"It'll be our responsibility over the next two to three days to really protect them and give them an opportunity to do what their body will do naturally," Wendy Knight, the CEO of the rehabilitation organization, told KVEO.
Severe snowstorm will continue to affect Buffalo through tomorrow
A lake effect snow warning remains in place until 7 p.m. tomorrow in New York's Erie, Genesee and Wyoming counties, according to the National Weather Service.
An additional 1 to 3 feet of snow is expected, with winds gusting up to 40 mph. Travel is expected to be difficult to impossible as blowing and drifting snow significantly reduce visibility and create near-whiteout conditions at times.
Buffalo Public Schools will remain closed tomorrow. Gov. Kathy Hochul encouraged businesses on X to send employees home by 3 p.m. today to avoid the worst of the snow. Residents are encouraged to stay home and follow city and county guidance.
Three people dead from storm-related events in Erie County, N.Y., county exec says
Three people have died in weather-related incidents in Erie County, New York, County Executive Mark Poloncarz wrote on X.
Two men died Monday, a 64-year-old who had been shoveling and a 41-year-old who was involved in a hit-and-run incident. A 57-year-old woman who had been blowing snow died yesterday, he said.
Poloncarz encouraged people with heart conditions and older adults in the county, which includes Buffalo, to avoid activities like shoveling and blowing snow.
Man falls to death while removing snow from his roof in Tennessee
A 66-year-old man died Monday while trying to remove snow from his roof near Centerville, Tennessee, the Hickman County Sheriff's Office told NBC News. The man reportedly fell through a skylight and broke his neck, officials said.
Florida rescue organization races to find indoor dog shelters amid cold
As freezing temperatures sweep the U.S., Florida Urgent Rescue volunteers are bringing dogs from outside kennels to Pet Paradise locations, where they will stay for the next week.
"Dogs in Florida are not used to the cold weather," Mike Merrill, the founder of Florida Urgent Rescue, told NBC affiliate WTLV of Jacksonville. "They can get frost bit. They can get exposure. They can die."
Sheer size of oncoming winter storm seen in satellite imagery
A hefty winter storm that's already dumping snow and frozen rain onto the Pacific and the interior Northwest is moving east, according to satellite images.
NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shared an animation based on water vapor imagery, showing the storm moving into the Rockies today as it continues eastward.
Cars buried by New York snow captured in social media video
The intense weather battering upstate New York this morning has inundated homes and cars in inches of snow, as seen in this video posted to X by a weather spotter in West Seneca. The lake effect snow band, which is expected to last for much of today, has prompted a driving ban in towns south and west of Buffalo.
Tennessee power supplier asks customers to reduce consumption
A major power supplier urged 10 million residents across Tennessee and six surrounding states to conserve energy as the demand for electricity skyrockets to record levels amid extreme cold.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally owned utility corporation, said in a statement that it was asking customers to "be aware of their power consumption" from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET).
"Extremely cold temperatures and near-zero wind chill cause an increase in power demand for heating over an extended period of time for more than 10 million people across the TVA seven-state region," the company said.
Utilities providers in Texas made the same plea to customers earlier this week.
Driving ban in place near Buffalo after heavy snowfall
A driving ban is place for towns to the south and east of Buffalo, New York, this morning after about 6 inches fell overnight due to lake effect snow.
The towns of Hamburg, Orchard Park, West Seneca, Lancaster and Cheektowaga, including all surrounding villages, and the city of Lackawanna are all covered by the ban. Everywhere else across Erie County is under a travel advisory.
The Hamburg Office of Emergency Services said in a statement this morning that authorities were "having a hard time keeping up due to numerous disabled vehicles," including a jackknifed tractor-trailer on Route 179 which has stranded other vehicles.
The National Weather Service has told people to expect "near whiteout" conditions in the band of heavy snow that will last for much of today and potentially dump 4 inches an hour.
Nearly 100 million in US under icy grip of Arctic weather
Dangerously low temperatures are maintaining an icy grip on the United States, with 95 million still under wind chill alerts.
The frigid winter blast is also wreaking havoc on air travel, with more than 2,400 flights canceled on Tuesday.
NBC’s Maggie Vespa reports and TODAY’s Al Roker tracks the latest forecast.
Wind and flood warnings as winter weather reaches Hawaii
Hawaii was hit by warnings of high winds and flooding overnight as the winter weather moves across the Pacific.
Flood-prone roads in Maui County were closed as a flood advisory was imposed for the islands of Maui and Kahoolawe, due to expire at 2 a.m. local time (7 a.m. ET).
On the Big Island, a warning was put in place until 6 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) due to expected winds of up to 75 mph on higher peaks.
"The winds can forcefully open doors and damage hinges or slam doors shut, possibly causing injuries," Maui County said in a statement.
6 confirmed dead in Tennessee in weather-related incidents
Winter weather caused the death of six people, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said last night, as the state continues to be hit by extreme cold.
Two people died in Shelby County, one in Hickman County, one in Madison County and two in Washington County. No more details were released on the identities of the dead nor the causes of the deaths.
That brings the total number of deaths since Friday to 12 nationwide.
A state of emergency was declared across Tennessee on Jan. 13. It is not scheduled to be lifted until Jan. 27.
Authorities are urging people across the state to reduce electricity use where possible and turn thermostats down to 68 degrees or lower. Many places across the state are experiencing their coldest weather in almost 20 years, reaching as low as minus 13 for some.
Nashville received a record 6.3 inches of snow on Monday, higher than the average yearly snow total for the city from 1991 to 2020 of 4.7 inches.
Bodyboarder makes most of snowy day in Washington, D.C.
A photo captured a man jumping from a mound of snow using a bodyboard outside the U.S. Capitol yesterday.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
State of emergency declared in Oregon county over winter storm damage
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek declared a state of emergency across Lane County last night following ice storms that caused severe damage.
"Lane County has suffered extensive damage as a result of the winter storm conditions that we’re seeing across Oregon," Kotek said in a statement. "This emergency declaration will support the county in accessing critical federal resources to aid in reconstruction and recovery efforts."
There has been damage to infrastructure and utilities across several services, the statement said.
Multnomah County, Lincoln County, Washington County, Hood River County, and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians have each declared a local state of emergency.
President Biden posts picture of a snowy White House
More than 150 million still under winter weather warnings
There may be a brief pause in the winter freeze for some today, but the extreme weather continues across many parts of the country, according to a map updated early today by the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- More than 105 million people were subject to a wind chill advisory notice from the National Weather Service — one step below an official warning — including much of the Midwest, the western half of Pennsylvania, almost all of Ohio and West Virginia.
- The number of those with wind chill warning has fallen to 1.1 million, covering parts of northern Alabama and southern Tennessee, and a swathe of West Virginia.
- A hard freeze warning is in place for almost 30 million people across the Deep South and Gulf Coast, affecting Texas through to Florida.
- Ice storm warnings and winter storm warnings affect more than six million in the Pacific and Interior Northwest.
Reprieve in winter chill for some, but new Arctic blast due soon
There is a welcome pause in the bitterly cold weather today for some parts of the U.S. and despite some heavy snow in the Great Lakes and ice storms in the Northwest and Rockies, there's a return to more typical winter temperatures.
But the relief may be short-lived: a new blast Arctic blast of freezing air is due as early as tomorrow and could plunge much of the country back into sub-zero temperature and dangerous wind chill conditions.
A Pacific storm system that's already brought freezing rain to Portland, Oregon, is moving toward the Washington coastline and has spread heavy snow across the interior Northwest, the National Weather Service said in an update at 3.17 a.m. ET.
What the weather service called "moderate to major" winter storm conditions can be expected today and into tomorrow in the Cascades and Rockies, with more than 2 inches of snow per hour and widespread winter weather warnings.
Yet another Pacific storm lies in wait to create a "1-2 punch" of storms for the region, potentially leaving up to an inch of frozen rain in the western Columbia Gorge.
Elsewhere, heavy lake effect snow could dump between 1 and 3 feet in the Great Lakes through tomorrow night, particularly downwind of Lakes Eerie and Ontario.
Texas, where people were treated for hypothermia in the last few days, is to enjoy temperatures in the 60s and 70s today, before another cold snap finds its way to the South by Friday.
Manhattan commuters brave cold temperatures
A woman crosses a street as hot steam escapes from the ground in New York City last night.
Charly Triballeau / AFP - Getty Images
Massive winter storm impacting tens of millions
A brutal winter blast is impacting thousands of U.S. flights and causing dangerous road conditions. In Chicago, owners of electric vehicles waited hours at charging stations after car batteries died rapidly. The South faces record-low temperatures. Nashville saw more snowfall in a single day than what’s typical for the entire year.
NBC’s Erin McLaughlin reports on how more snow is expected to hit the Northeast this week.
