A powerful winter storm sweeping across the central and eastern United States has left at least 38 people dead in 14 states, as millions continue to endure snow, ice, power outages, and dangerously cold temperatures, according to local officials and media reports.
The storm began developing on Friday, January 23, dumping heavy snow and ice across a wide swath of the country over the weekend. While snowfall eased by Monday, January 26, bitter cold has lingered, creating hazardous conditions and straining emergency services.
By Tuesday, January 27, more than 550,000 homes and businesses nationwide remained without electricity, and nearly 200 million Americans were under some form of winter weather or extreme cold warning, expected to last through at least February 1.
Ten of the storm-related deaths occurred in New York City, where temperatures fell to 8 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest the city has experienced in eight years. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said all 10 victims were found outdoors, though officials have not confirmed whether they were homeless.
Some of the deceased had previously interacted with the city’s shelter system, the mayor said, adding that it was too early to determine definitive causes of death.
The city postponed its annual homeless population count, required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, citing safety concerns.
“Outreach workers should be focused on bringing New Yorkers inside, not on data collection,” Mamdani said. “Extreme weather is not a personal failure.”
Since January 19, about 500 homeless individuals have been placed in shelters. Outreach teams are conducting checks every two hours on 350 high-risk individuals with underlying medical conditions.
In Nashville, Tennessee, where more than 135,000 homes and businesses remain without power, officials warned temperatures could drop to 6 degrees Fahrenheit by early Wednesday, with wind chills below zero.
“This is an historic ice storm,” Mayor Freddie O’Connell said at a press conference Tuesday.
All three of the city’s homeless shelters, along with two overflow facilities, are full, housing about 1,400 people. Police, firefighters, and emergency workers are conducting street checks as shelters operate at maximum capacity.
The Nashville Rescue Mission reported an unprecedented surge, serving as many as 7,000 people during the cold snap, compared with a typical nightly average of around 400.
“When the weather is bad, people come in out of the cold,” an attendant told Reuters.
Storm-related fatalities have been reported from Texas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Michigan, with causes ranging from hypothermia and exposure to cardiac events while shoveling snow.
In Bonham, Texas, three young boys died after falling into an icy pond. In Austin, one person died of apparent hypothermia while sheltering at an abandoned gas station, authorities said.
More Storms Possible
Forecasters are monitoring the potential for another winter storm to impact the eastern United States this weekend, according to David Roth of the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
As extreme cold persists, officials across affected states continue urging residents to limit travel, seek shelter, and check on vulnerable neighbors.
