Storm Leaves At Least 25 Dead and Hundreds of Thousands Without Power

At least 25 deaths had been reported across the country by Monday from the winter storm that swept from the Southwest to New England over the weekend, PBS NewsHour reported, with causes including hypothermia and sledding accidents. More than 800,000 customers were still without electricity, mostly in the South, and authorities warned that restoration in some areas could take days.

The National Weather Service said at least 19 states received more than a foot of snow, PBS reported. NBC News’s running coverage listed Davis, West Virginia, with 16.6 inches, Midland, Pennsylvania, with 15 inches and Columbus, Indiana, with 13.5 inches among Sunday’s reports. Central Park in New York recorded 8.8 inches by Sunday afternoon, the city’s largest storm since 2021, according to NBC News, and the weather service raised its forecast for Boston to 23 inches, which would rank among the city’s top 10 two-day snowfalls.

Ice did the most damage in the South. NBC News reported that Nashville had a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch of ice. On Sunday evening about 285,000 customers were without power in Tennessee, 155,000 in Mississippi and 128,000 in Louisiana. Nashville Electric Service said outages could last “days or longer,” and a Mississippi utility near the Tennessee line said restoration could take weeks. PBS said outages in some states may last well into the week.

The storm set records for air travel. FlightAware data showed more than 11,000 flights canceled on Sunday, the most in a single day since the pandemic, according to PBS, and NBC News counted more than 11,800, the most since March 27, 2020. Thousands more flights were grounded on Monday, PBS reported, and NBC News said Reagan Washington National Airport canceled all flights Sunday and LaGuardia Airport closed.

Counts of deaths varied by outlet and are being compiled by local officials. NBC News attributed seven deaths to the weather in Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas and Kansas, citing local officials, and said five people died in New York City over the weekend without confirmed causes. PBS reported that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed seven deaths in the city during the storm. Both outlets reported that a woman outside Boston died after being struck by a snowplow in a commuter rail lot. NBC News said the incident, in Norwood, Massachusetts, is under investigation.

In New York, public schools were closed Monday with remote learning, and about 2,000 sanitation workers were deployed in 12-hour shifts, NBC News reported. Warming centers opened in all five boroughs. “While the worst is behind us, there is still more to be done as we clear the snow and restore our city,” Mamdani said, according to PBS.

The cold is not over. NBC News reported that temperatures ran 10 to 40 degrees below average, with wind chills in the minus 20s and minus 30s in some areas and record lows possible in Dallas, Houston, Austin, New Orleans, Little Rock and Tulsa. Conditions were expected to improve gradually during the week, though cold and snow may linger, it said. PBS reported that millions of Americans faced bitter temperatures for days, and that roads in many places remained icy and slick.

In Texas, about 100,000 customers were without power at midday Sunday, NBC News reported, and dozens of school districts in the Dallas area called a snow day for Monday.