Ice covers trees and shrubs outside Walmart during the extreme cold in Cleveland, Mississippi, February 11, 2021.
Rory Doyle | Reuters
Hundreds of Walmart stores are temporarily closed because the winter weather causes severe drops in ice and power in Texas, the Southeast and other parts of the country.
The large retailer said 456 stores and clubs would be closed until noon on Tuesday. This represents almost 9% of Walmart’s more than 5,300 stores and Sam’s Club locations.
Other retailers and restaurants have also kept stores closed or sent workers home due to extreme weather. Kroger closed some locations and reduced store hours in Houston and Dallas, according to its website. Target kept 10 stores closed because of the winter, most of them in Texas, a company spokeswoman said.
In Texas, more than 4.2 million people woke up without power on Tuesday, as the state’s power grid failed to meet heat demand during record low temperatures. Low temperatures, snow and freezing rain are also forecast for many other regions, including New England, the Great Plains and the Mississippi Valley, according to the National Weather Service.
Bad weather disrupted service at the FedEx hub in Memphis and caused package delays in the U.S., the company said. This prevented collection and delivery in some cities, said company spokeswoman Shannon Davis. She said customers can monitor shipments and track the status of the local service on the company’s website.
– CNBC’s Noah Higgins-Dunn contributed to this story.