A deadly winter storm that has already claimed at least 45 lives across the United States is expected to intensify again by this weekend, with forecasters warning of another major system, deeper cold, and dangerous conditions from the South to New England.
Brutal cold lingered Tuesday in the wake of a massive storm that dumped heavy snow across more than 1,300 miles from Arkansas to New England, while coating parts of the South in treacherous ice.
Officials in several states reported deaths linked to freezing temperatures, power failures, and hazardous travel conditions.
Freezing conditions stretched as far south as Tennessee, Arkansas, and North Carolina, with temperatures forecast to plunge again overnight. Parts of northern Florida were expected to drop to around 25 degrees late Tuesday into early Wednesday.
The National Weather Service warned that arctic air gripping the eastern half of the country is likely to worsen Friday and Saturday, as another winter storm threatens parts of the East Coast and sets the stage for more record lows.
"This could be the coldest temperature seen in several years for some places and the longest duration of cold in several decades," the Weather Prediction Center warned.
Losses of power remained widespread Tuesday evening, with more than 448,000 homes and businesses still without electricity.
More than half of those service interruptions were concentrated in Tennessee and Mississippi. Utility representatives cautioned that restoring service in some of the hardest-hit areas could take days.
The utility Entergy said some of its roughly 6,000 customers in Grenada, Mississippi, may not have power restored until Sunday. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency warned that recovery will be slow.
"We've made some progress, but we still have a long way to go," Scott Simmons, director of external affairs for the Mississippi agency, told Newsmax2 on Tuesday. "This is not going to be a couple-day recovery. It's going to be a couple of weeks."
Simmons said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has responded quickly to the state's needs, with roughly 50 federal personnel already there and more expected.
In Tennessee, more than 110,000 customers remained without power in Nashville and surrounding communities. Nashville Electric Service said it deployed more than 740 workers to assist with restoring service, though no timetable was given.
City officials reported that nearly 440 people sought shelter at community centers Monday night, while more than 1,400 stayed in homeless shelters. Many residents turned to hotels to escape the cold.
In New York City, officials said at least 10 people were found dead outdoors amid freezing weather.
Other deaths were reported in more than a dozen states. They included two people struck by snowplows in Massachusetts and Ohio, two teenagers killed while sledding in Arkansas and Texas, and a man found dead in his Indiana home after losing heat.
In Texas, three brothers — ages 6, 8, and 9 — died Monday after falling through ice on a private pond near Bonham, according to Fannin County Sheriff Cody Shook.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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