Freezing temperatures across much of the United States left millions of Americans facing potentially dangerous cold on Sunday, as arctic storms threatened near-blizzard conditions in the Northeast and several inches of snow in parts of the South.
The National Weather Service warned that windy, subfreezing conditions in Montana and the Dakotas could cause wind chills as low as -70 degrees Fahrenheit (-56 degrees Celsius).
An estimated 95 million people were under wind chill warnings or advisories below zero F (minus 17 C), according to the weather service. Forecasters said the bitter cold would extend as far south as northern Texas.
Authorities warned people to stay off the roads in Buffalo, New York, where snowfall of 1 to 2 feet (0.3 to 0.6 meters) was forecast. The severe storm forced the Buffalo Bills-Pittsburgh Steelers NFL playoff game to be postponed from Sunday to Monday. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) were also possible, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.
“They’re expected to see heavy snowfall but also extreme winds,” Taylor said. “That’s why they expect to see near-blizzard conditions at times.”
Another Arctic storm that has dumped heavy snow on the Rocky Mountains is forecast to move further south, potentially bringing 4 to 6 inches (0.10 to 0.15 meters) of snow to parts of Arkansas, northern Mississippi and western Tennessee.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency ahead of the severe weather to give utility trucks and trucks carrying essential supplies greater flexibility to respond.
More than 150,000 homes and businesses in Oregon were without power Sunday following heavy snowfall and ice storms, according to poweroutage.us. Widespread outages affecting tens of thousands of people were also reported in Michigan and Wisconsin.
The harsh weather in Oregon played a role in three deaths.
In Portland, medical examiners were investigating a hypothermia death as freezing rain and heavy snow fell in a city more accustomed to mild winter rains, and hundreds of people sheltered overnight in warming centers.
Portland Fire and Rescue also reported the death of a woman in her 30s Saturday afternoon. A motor home caught fire when a small group of people used an open flame stove to keep warm inside and a tree fell on the vehicle, causing the fire to spread. Three other people escaped, including one with minor injuries, but the woman was trapped inside, the fire department said.
Authorities in Lake Oswego, Oregon, said a large tree fell on a home during high winds Saturday, killing an elderly man on the second floor.
Weather-related deaths were already reported earlier this week in California, Idaho, Illinois and Wisconsin.