The low pressure system has had a deadly impact: at least 15 people have died in climate-related traffic accidents since the onset of low temperatures. In Oklahoma alone, 123 people were in the hospital on Monday with weather-related injuries.
Because snow blankets are typically temperate in states like Texas and Oklahoma, and power cuts cause poverty in Louisiana, some 200 million people remain under some kind of weather-related warning.
The storm is expected to pass through the Northeast on Tuesday, leaving a trail of heavy snow and ice in its path, said CNN meteorologist Tyler Mauldin.
Temperatures are expected to increase with movement, although the record for cold mornings and afternoons will last until Saturday, Mauldin said. Millions are preparing for temperatures that seem to be below zero by the end of the week.
But as soon as the low pressure system leaves states like Texas and Oklahoma, a system that has been pouring cold precipitation on the west coast is expected to take its place with more winter antics, Maudlin said.
“I am almost sure that we are slowly watching one of the first billion dollar climate disasters in 2021,” said Mauldin.
Up to 200 more cold temperature records could be broken
Exceptionally low temperatures are expected to have reached almost every corner of the United States.
Seattle has reported more than 11 inches of snow over the weekend, the most since January 1972. More than 50 inches of snow has fallen in parts of Wyoming in the past few days.
More than six inches of snow fell from eastern Texas to Ohio, with some areas reaching more than a foot. Heavy snow can hit downwind areas of Lake Erie and Ontario as the system leaves New England until Tuesday night.
At that time, there is a possibility that almost 200 new cold temperature records could be broken.
Oklahoma City reached a record five days without rising more than 20 degrees – they are not expected to exceed that temperature until Thursday, for a period of nine days.
Power and water cut
The drop in temperatures froze or overwhelmed energy sources, leaving nearly 5 million people in the dark on Tuesday morning.
Although continuous power cuts are not planned for Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards said they could happen if power generation was not able to meet demand. Edwards said that this will be the coldest climate Louisiana has experienced in several decades, and that about 125,000 families have lost energy, some for more than 12 hours.
In Abilene, Texas, the approximately 123,000 residents are also without water due to power outages. All three water treatment plants in the city had to be closed when both power sources were cut off, according to a statement from the city of Abilene.
“It is not known exactly when the energy and the subsequent water service will be returned to Abilene’s water customers,” said the city.
Postponed vaccinations
Along with energy, winter storms have delayed Covid-19 vaccinations in the United States.
San Antonio, Texas, postponed vaccinations until Tuesday at the Alamodome for the second consecutive day. In other parts of the state, in Harris County, Texas, authorities were rushing to allocate and rescue 8,400 coronavirus vaccines that were at risk of spoiling after the generator and backup generator failed on Monday morning.
“Missouri is experiencing a harsh winter that makes driving dangerous and threatens the health and safety of anyone exposed to the cold. These conditions are also likely to delay some vaccine shipments,” said Parson. “We want to protect the safety of everyone involved in mass vaccination events, from the patients being vaccinated to the volunteers who generously support these events.”
‘Roads are being covered faster than we can clear them’
While waiting for the power to return, many officials warned residents that now is not the time to travel.
Since Sunday, Mississippi Highway Patrol said it had investigated more than 400 weather-related traffic incidents.
All but eight counties in the state reported ice on roads and bridges, according to a tweet from the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
“Heavy snowfall rates combined with snow gusts mean the roads are being covered faster than we can clear them,” the department tweeted.
Texas among the most affected states
Texas, a state not used to the amount of snow it has seen, has suffered some of the worst impacts of the storm.
More than 4.1 million customers are without power, according to Poweroutages.US, and daily life has been strongly affected by cold and interruptions.
“Even during Hurricane Harvey, our facilities never lost power and we never stopped producing the print edition, but each weather emergency brings its own twists and turns,” wrote the newspaper.
The cold came to disrupt cell service in Fort Bend County on Monday night, wrote Fort Bend County judge KP George in his verified Twitter account.
For Jamie Taylor, a mother of five in Dallas, the power outage for more than 18 hours meant taking care of her family at 45 degrees inside her apartment.
CNN’s Kay Jones, Joe Sutton, Rebekah Riess, Dave Alsup and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.