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Historically low temperatures hold central states
Amid an extreme cold outbreak, another storm is popping up to deliver snow to the southern plains.
Accuweather
The winter’s brutal attack on the US continued on Wednesday when another snowstorm swept across the country, including areas where millions were left without a record in a record-breaking.
In all, more than 100 million Americans were on the road to the next storm as it tracked from the southern plains to the East Coast over the next few days, the National Weather Service said.
At least 20 people have died as a result of the severe cold and a series of storms that have moved from coast to coast over the past few days. In the Houston area, one family in their garage succumbed to carbon monoxide due to car exhaust gas; another perished after flames spread from their fireplace.
In Texas, nearly 3 million homes and businesses were left without power Wednesday. Other states where tens of thousands of power outages have been counted include Louisiana, Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio and Oregon, according to poweroutage.us, a utility tracking site.
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Utility services from Minnesota to Texas and Mississippi have implemented glowing power outages to ease the burden on power networks to meet the extreme demand for heat and electricity, as record low temperatures have been reported in city after city.
Josh Sklar, a resident of northwest Austin, said his family only lost power on Thursday. After regaining strength for a short time on Sunday, he said his family had reunited in their closet for warmth.
“We have no confidence that ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) and Austin Energy care or do anything for us,” Sklar said.
Many residents are frustrated, including Amber Nichols, in north Austin.
“We are very angry,” she said. ‘I examined my neighbor, and she’s angry too. We are all angry because there is no reason to let whole neighborhoods freeze to death. It’s a complete jungle. ‘
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Another winter storm is aimed at the South, Middle East, Northeast
The next winter storm will bring more snow and ice and ‘just a real mess’ in many parts of the country, including the South, Midwest and Northeast, said Bernie Rayno, meteorologist at AccuWeather.
As the storm hits in the northeast until Friday, snow is forecast to fall along a 2,000-mile stretch of northwest and north-central Texas to northern Maine, AccuWeather said. In the south and east of the snow zone, there is ice rain and snow, which stretches from central Texas to southeastern New York State.
According to the weather service, ice accumulations of a quarter to as much as a quarter inch are predicted in some areas. “In the areas struggling with this devastating ice accumulation, residents can expect dangerous travel conditions, numerous power outages and major tree damage,” the weather service said.
Northeast remains threatened by continuous winter storms
After a storm continued across much of the region on Tuesday, more snow from a separate system is forecast for later this week.
Accuweather
While many areas are still dealing with the bitter cold, some parts of the Gulf Coast will face the chance of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes later Wednesday, the Storm Forecast Center said. The severe storm threat will continue Thursday in parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
The extreme weather threatened the COVID-19 vaccination attempt. President Joe Biden’s administration has said vaccination and delivery delays are likely. After visiting Milwaukee on Tuesday, Biden said the weather was just as “cold as the devil up there.”
There is a glimmer of hope for those dealing with power outages, major disruptions in daily activities or simply exhaustion from all the winter storms: “Behind this winter storm there may be an interruption in the relentless pattern of nationwide snow and ice,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Courtney Travis said.
“While a full week of dry weather may not be the case, the central and eastern parts of the country may get some relief from the constant turmoil during the last week of February,” Travis added.
Contributions: the Austin American statesman; The Associated Press
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