It was a matter of concern when millions of Americans faced severe cold conditions due to winter storms. They had to endure power outages and cold temperatures. Those who had provisions of Renewable Energy in their premises were in a more comfortable position. The National Weather Service issued warnings that said - "Significant snow, sleet, and freezing rain accumulations will spread across most of the Mid-South Wednesday and Thursday." The areas included portions of Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and all of Arkansas.
Also, the place from Kentucky to New England was also in the danger zone. There has been a loss of lives reported due to weather-related vehicle crashes. In Oklahoma alone, there was hospitalization of many people because of such injuries. These are unavoidable while driving through roads covered with snow.
CNN says the drop in temperatures heaped miseries on those suffering from power outages. The weather affected Travel and resulted in delays in the movement of shipments of coronavirus vaccines. This has upset the schedule of vaccination. A spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade mayor's office indicated a wait for many people in Miami-Dade County to receive their scheduled second dose of the vaccine.
This would be a direct fallout of delay in receipt of supplies. There are similar situations in Colorado, Ohio, and other areas. Recently, Yosemite National Park reopened after it suffered extensive damage from a winter storm.
Deaths due to winter storm
One person lost his life in an incident associated with carbon monoxide poisoning. North Carolina reported the death of at least three people. They were victims of an overnight EF3 tornado. Air travel is crippled, and the winter storm led to the cancellation of innumerable flights. Texas rarely witnesses such brutal winter weather and faces temperatures below freezing point. The state had to suffer from loss of power. CNN mentions about a disturbance in cell phone services in Fort Bend County.
Judge KP George took to Twitter and said - "Cell phone service is starting to break down over the region as back-up generators at towers are freezing or running out of fuel or both." In January, New York City had to cope with a winter storm.
Winter storm has covered large portions of the mainland US by snow
The current winter storm is creating new records of low temperatures. This has affected the working of power sources and left millions of homes and businesses in darkness. The majority of those are in Texas. It has disturbed the water supply. In Abilene, Texas, the water treatment plants had to close because of a break in their power sources. The authorities managed to restore power to one of the plants and are trying to fix the others.
CNN goes on to add snow has covered more than 73 percent of the mainland US. The office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA confirms this. Only three states are free from snow. These are Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The NOAA adds - "This cold snap is forecast to result in record low temperatures that are comparable to the historical cold snaps of Feb 1899 & 1905."
Wind chill warnings from the winter storm from Canada into Mexico
According to Los Angeles Times, America is in the grip of a record-breaking cold weather spell. Four members of a family lost their lives in Houston. It was due to a house fire. They were reportedly using a fireplace to stay warm. There are reports of at least 16 deaths.
These are mainly from car crashes and carbon monoxide poisoning. Wind chill warnings are in place from Canada into Mexico. The frequency of power outages increased, with the worst being in Texas. The state opened several shelters to accommodate more than 1,000 occupants. Omaha experienced a temperature of 23 degrees below zero overnight. It was the coldest in 25 years.