US is hit with the most snow coverage since records began as 73% of the country is blanketed

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A second devastating storm began ravaging the US Wednesday, threatening to dump 10 inches on the northeast hours after a first winter wipe-out blanketed the nation in the most snow since records began 18 years ago, killed at least 23 and left millions without power. 

Winter Storm Uri left the US late Tuesday after covering a staggering 73.2 percent of the 48 contiguous states in snow with an average depth of 6 inches, according to the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center, marking the most coverage since data collection began back in 2003.

The previous record was on January 12 2011 when 70.9 percent of snow coverage occurred and Florida was the only state in 50 not to have snow on the ground.

This time last year just 35.5 percent of the nation was covered with an average depth of 4.6 inches.  

Nationwide, the death toll climbed higher with the freezing storm claiming 23 lives across the hard-hit states of Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and Missouri with tragedies including car crashes, fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.  

Texas bore the brunt of the crisis with 10 people so far killed after the electricity grid in the nation’s second most populous state catastrophically failed, plunging millions into darkness and freezing temperatures for a second night in a row Tuesday. 

Utilities from Minnesota to Texas and Mississippi have implemented rolling blackouts to ease the burden on power grids straining to meet extreme demand for heat and electricity as record low temperatures were reported in city after city. 

Around 3.4 million customers were still without power Wednesday in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, more than 200,000 more in four Appalachian states, and nearly that many in the Pacific Northwest, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility outage reports. 

In Mexico, rolling blackouts Tuesday covered more than one-third of the country after the storms in Texas cut the supply of imported natural gas. 

The storm that overwhelmed power grids and immobilized the Southern Plains carried heavy snow and freezing rain into New England and the Deep South and left behind painfully low temperatures while wind-chill warnings extended from Canada into Mexico.  

The storm moved north into Canada late Tuesday night leaving communities reeling as homes continue to be left without heating or electricity and it left icy air throughout the Great Plains and Mississippi Valley in its wake.

There was no time for recovery, however, as the second storm this week slammed into the already hard-hit regions. 

More than 150 million Americans have been placed under winter weather warnings, impacting almost half the entire population and marking the largest extent of such a warning bulletin since 2005, as it plowed into Texas and other parts of the southern Plains.  

Winter storm watches were in effect from Baltimore to Boston, and Texas was braced for more icy rain and possibly more snow. 

The storm currently stretches from the Gulf Coast to the Upper Midwest with more ice and low temperatures headed for the already hard hit areas of Texas and Oklahoma Wednesday morning. 

Mississippi and Tennessee – which are both already blanketed in snow – will be hit by more snowfall Wednesday evening, while New Orleans and Florida have also been warned to prepare for storms.

By Thursday the storm will have passed through the mid-Atlantic and Northeast dumping up to 10 inches on New York City and also pummeling Washington DC and Philadelphia.

AccuWeather senior meteorologist Carl Erickson told the New York Post New Yorkers should brace for 6 to 10 inches in the boroughs and inland suburbs, and 3 to 6 inches in Jersey Shore and Long Island.

This comes as the Big Apple has already been struck by more snowfall than in a typical season with 33.8 inches falling in Central Park since the start of the season late last year compared to an average of 17.8 inches for an entire season. 

Meanwhile, DC could see 5 inches and Philadelphia up to one foot in parts of the suburbs Thursday.

Not even forecasters were ready for the magnitude of the week’s snowstorms with the National Weather Service said to be ‘very surprised how rapidly this storm intensified’. 

Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service, warned ‘there’s really no letup to some of the misery people are feeling’ as the country braces for more icy weather. 

Vice President Kamala Harris said on NBC’s ‘Today’ show Wednesday that she and Joe Biden are doing ‘everything that is possible through the signing of the emergency orders to get federal relief to support them’ while the president warned the severe weather will slow down the COVID-19 vaccine rollout critical to tackling the nation’s other crisis point – the pandemic. 

Texas  

In Texas, at least 10 people have so far died from the effects of the storm as record-smashing low temperatures have plunged the state’s energy industry into crisis leaving millions struggle to survive with no power to stay warm for a second straight day. 

Dallas on Tuesday recorded its coldest day since 1949 as temperatures plummeted to -2 degrees while Austin reached a low of 7 degrees – the coldest since 6 degrees was recorded two days before Christmas 1989.

In San Antonio it was the coldest February 16 in more than a century Tuesday with its low of 12 degrees smashing the previous record of 16 degrees in 1895.

The record-breaking cold weather claimed more lives Tuesday, including four family members who perished in a Houston-area house fire while using a fireplace to stay warm and a woman and a girl who died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning from a car running in a garage after their home in the city lost power. 

Two men found along Houston-area roadways likely died in subfreezing temperatures, law enforcement officials said. 

A 78-year-old man was found dead in his home in Bexar County Monday – presumably from extreme cold – while another man was killed when he was struck by a car along an interstate when he got out his car after crashing on the ice. 

In Harris County, officials reported more than 300 carbon monoxide poisoning cases as people use BBQ pits and generators indoors in an effort to stay warm. 

Dr. Samuel Prater, a UTHealth emergency physician told The Houston Chronicle: ‘With that number of patients going in, it’s turning into a mini mass casualty event.’ 

‘This is an absolute public health disaster,’ another medical official in Houston told KPRC-TV. 

‘[Carbon monoxide poisoning] certainly happens when it gets cold, but never in these numbers. 

In Galveston, the medical examiner’s office requested a refrigerated truck to expand body storage as it could need to suddenly take on an extra 20 to 50 bodies. 

Desperate residents flocked to shelters and hotels in Texas for refuge from the cold with the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston already reaching capacity by noon Tuesday. 

Officials requested 60 generators from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and opened 35 shelters as around 2.7 million continued to be left without power Wednesday. 

The power breakdown sparked growing outrage and demands for answers over how Texas — whose Republican leaders as recently as last year taunted California over the Democratic-led state’s rolling blackouts — failed such a massive test of a major point of state pride: energy independence. 

Governor Greg Abbot has demanded an investigation into grid manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, as cities including San Antonio, Dallas and Austin were left to shoulder the brunt of a catastrophic power failure. 

Rep. Jeff Leach called it ‘ridiculous’ that five of the 15 ERCOT board members do not appear to live in Texas. 

He tweeted: ‘I’m filing legislation this session requiring all @ERCOT_ISO officers and directors to be Texas residents. Completely ridiculous and unacceptable that current ERCOT Board Chair lives in Michigan!’   

The state is the only one in continental US that has its own power grid; it is not federally regulated. 

The extreme weather is also hitting hard Texas farms and ranches as cattle and other livestock are dying from exposure to the elements and forced shutdowns of plants means animal feed could soon be in short supply.  

Oklahoma 

Oklahoma City in Oklahoma experienced its coldest weather since 1899 Tuesday night and residents woke up to little relief Wednesday morning with temperatures of 10 degrees Fahrenheit and a real feel of zero. 

Oklahoma City recorded its second lowest temperature on record Tuesday night, beaten only on February 12 1899.

The Department of Transportation is urging people to stay home and not travel Wednesday as snow continues to fall creating treacherous conditions on the roadways and overpasses.

Snow is forecast to continue falling through Wednesday, with up to six inches of accumulation forecast for the capital city and up to 12 inches in other worse hit parts of the state.

Temperatures will finally climb just above freezing Friday – marking the first time a high above freezing will be recorded since February 8. 

Cherokee Nation casinos and businesses announced they were shuttering through Friday in desperate efforts to conserve power in the face of electricity shortages across the region. 

Louisiana

In Louisiana, a 75-year-old woman was found dead outside her neighbor’s home in Lafayette early Tuesday more than six hours after she left her own home and succumbed to the elements, authorities said. 

Her death comes after the state recorded its first storm-related death Monday night when a 50-year-old Lafayette Parish resident slipped on ice and struck his head on the ground. 

Residents are bracing for the next winter storm system throughout Wednesday and people in New Orleans have been told to prepare for rolling power outages until midnight as demand for electricity reaches an all-time high. 

Tennessee 

Over in Memphis, Tennessee, single-digit temperatures entered the third day Wednesday and threatened to derail the city’s drinking water supply. 

Memphis, Light, Gas & Water is asking customers to use less water and hold off washing clothes through Friday after several water mains have burst and pressure has dropped across the distribution system. 

The utility also said late Tuesday it’s seeing reduced reservoir levels at pumping stations.

Over in western Tennessee, a 10-year-old boy died when he fell into an ice-covered pond on Sunday as the storm hammered the state. 

Illinois

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation Tuesday for the entire state after the ‘dangerous and ongoing winter weather’ left around 7,000 households without power.

‘I have directed my administration to use all resources at our disposal to keep our communities safe amid dangerous and ongoing winter weather,’ Pritzker said. 

‘We are in communication with local governments to ensure they have the support they need in disaster response and recovery operations. We are also working with our federal partners to pursue federal assistance to help communities recover and to do what we can to protect ratepayers from soaring utility bills.’

Schools in Chicago shuttered Tuesday after a foot and a half of new snow blanketed the city just one week after officials finally reached an agreement with teachers’ unions to get students back to in-person classes.

Warming centers were set up for residents to get some respite from the cold and Fire Commissioner Richard Ford urded Chicagoans to check on their vulnerable and elderly neighbors. 

By Wednesday morning, the city had been pummeled by more than 17 inches of snow marking the snowiest three-week stretch in four decades.

The National Weather Service said more ‘light snow’ is on its way Wednesday afternoon which will break the city’s record by topping off the 10th straight day of snowfall. 

Minnesota

More snow is headed to Minnesota Wednesday after the state has been faced with almost two weeks of daily wind chills at or below zero.

In the northern part of the state, wind chill factors Wednesday morning fell to -35 degrees.  

Power was cut to 9,800 residents in parts of Moorhead in western Minnesota Tuesday morning sparking fears of rolling blackouts amid freezing temperatures. But the electric grid quickly stabilized and the rolling blackouts were called off in the area.

It was a similar story in Duluth’s Bayview Heights, Piedmont Heights, and Hermantown areas when 2,737 customers were briefly left without power Tuesday morning. 

By next week, the weather will have done a u-turn as highs of 40 degrees are forecast in the south.