Forecasters predict that a second storm will bring snow to New York after inflicting havoc further south, while the Pacific Northwest may experience another bout of fatal ice.
Friday’s estimates come after storms pummeled most of the country with winds, snow, and subfreezing temperatures, resulting in at least 45 deaths.
More than 2 inches of snow were anticipated for the New York City metropolitan region through Friday, while on the other coast, Oregon’s governor announced a statewide state of emergency following days of freezing rain and cold temperatures.
Three individuals died on Wednesday in Portland as a result of a downed electrical line.
New York City, which only saw significant snow on Tuesday after more than two years, was in the spotlight as the National Weather Service issued warnings of slightly more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow through Friday in the metropolitan area, with New Jersey and Pennsylvania also receiving snow.
On Thursday, an American Airlines plane slipped off a snowy taxiway in Rochester, New York, following a flight from Philadelphia.
There were no injuries recorded.
On the West Coast, Oregon’s governor declared a statewide emergency Thursday night in response to requests for assistance from various counties “as they enter the sixth day of severe impacts” caused by freezing rain.
An ice storm caused major damage to areas of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, leaving thousands of households without power since Saturday.
“We lost power on Saturday and were told yesterday that it would be more than two weeks before it was restored,” said Jamie Kenworthy, a real estate broker in Jasper, Lane County.
Storms have pounded most of the United States with rain, snow, wind, and freezing temperatures over the previous two weeks, delaying transportation and air travel and killing at least 45 people.
Three people were electrocuted Wednesday by a downed power line in Portland, Oregon.
After falling on the icy driveway and colliding with the live wire, a man perished while attempting to exit a parked car covered by the line while holding a baby.
The baby survived.
His pregnant 21-year-old girlfriend and her 15-year-old brother died while attempting to assist. Ronald Briggs, their father, told KGW-TV that he was helpless as he watched them die.
“I have six children. “I lost two of them in one day,” he explained.
Crews had made steady headway restoring power to tens of thousands of Oregon customers following back-to-back storms, but by Friday morning, more than 107,000 were still without power, according to poweroutage.us.
Portland Public Schools canceled classes for the fourth day in a row due to worries about slippery roadways and water damage to buildings, while state offices in Portland were also ordered closed Friday.
Snow fell softly in Washington, D.C., and the streets surrounding the United States Capitol remained silent.
Schools closed for the second time in a week, and the government was operating on a two-hour delay.
President Joe Biden, however, planned to greet mayors from across the country on Friday and was still on his way to his Delaware Beach house for the weekend.
The meteorological service predicted 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) in the region.
Many counties in Maryland, northern Virginia, and West Virginia shuttered schools on Friday due to weather, and the governor announced a state of emergency on Thursday.
Bitter weather persisted in the South, with a new layer of ice forming over sections of Tennessee on Thursday as part of a larger spell of cold sweeping the country.
Authorities blamed the system for at least 14 deaths in Tennessee, where more than 9 inches (22.8 centimeters) of snow had fallen since Sunday in sections of Nashville, a city that rarely receives such accumulations.
Temperatures also dropped below zero (minus 17.7 Celsius) in areas of the state, resulting in the highest power demand ever recorded throughout the seven states supplied by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The deceased included a box truck driver who collided with a tractor-trailer on an interstate, a guy who fell through a skylight while cleaning a roof, and a woman who died of hypothermia after being discovered motionless in her home.
Icy roads in Tennessee made travel hazardous Thursday night.
In Anderson County, just outside of Knoxville, the sheriff’s department noted in a social media post that emergency responders were having difficulty responding to several incidents due to the worst road conditions in years, as their vehicles were stuck and out of service.
On Thursday, Will Compton of the group Open Table Nashville, which assists homeless individuals, stopped his SUV outside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to provide warm hats, blankets, protein drinks, and socks while chilly rain fell.
“People who are poor and people who are homeless are getting hit the hardest,” he stated.
Aaron Robison, 62, has been living at one of the city’s warming centers and says the cold didn’t affect him when he was younger.
But, with arthritis in his hip and the need for two canes, he needed to get away from the cold.
“Thank God for folks who aid others on the streets. “That’s a blessing,” he stated.
Since unusually cold weather began last week, more than 60 oil spills and other environmental issues have been reported in North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields, where officials say wind chills as low as minus 70 degrees (minus 56.6 degrees Celsius) have taxed workers and equipment, increasing the likelihood of mishaps.
Five people in Washington state perished from cold exposure in just four days last week in Seattle, when temperatures dropped to well below freezing, according to the medical examiner’s office. The majority of them were likely homeless.