Slow warming can be expected across the South, but temperatures will remain well below normal over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
A system in the northwest is expected to produce rain and snow in the mountains. And the NWS is warning that a “cold front will produce a winter mix in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast with heavy rains that can cause flooding in the Southeast”. But next week, temperatures are expected to rise to 60 and 70 degrees.
The wintry climate has killed at least 38 people across the country since 11 February.
Power outages for hundreds of thousands
In other parts of the country, about 400,000 other customers were without power on Friday morning, including about 110,000 in Mississippi.
About 13 million Texans, almost half of the state’s population, were under a boiling water board Thursday, according to the executive director of the Texas Environmental Quality Commission, Toby Baker. More than 700 water supply systems are affected.
Ehren Williamson told CNN that he considers himself one of the lucky Texans after having his energy and water restored in the past 24 hours. But now Williamson has to worry about finding food to eat and drink water, as there is still a boiling water warning.
“We went to several HE-Bs and looked for food for about six to eight hours on Tuesday,” he told CNN by phone from Pflugerville, Texas.
Today, Williamson waited in line for an hour at a HEB. Once inside the store, there was no water anywhere.
“We received no warning,” he said. “We got the impression it wasn’t going to be bad. I didn’t even see the blackout warnings going on. It just got dark.”
If he had been told, he said he would have stocked up on food, water and a backup generator.
Other states also deal with snow and ice
Texas is not the only state that feels the fury of winter.
In Wayne, Pennsylvania, people are struggling to try to clear muddy snow before it freezes, causing dangerous conditions, according to CNN affiliate 3CBS Philly. Wayne received more than 25 centimeters of snow during the storm. And now people are worried about what’s left after digging sidewalks and driveways is freezing and will make roads slippery.
“Well, it looked like someone threw dynamite the way it fell and hit it hard,” resident Hope Woods told WXII 12. “We were brushing our teeth and I was like, ‘OK, I heard a lot of commotion.’ window and there’s a giant tree smashed in every car. “
But despite the difficulties faced across the country, there are stories of hope.
“Your regular hospital staff who needed to be there, your maintenance staff, your security guards, they are also essential. Yes, they are not directly treating patients, but doctors and nurses need them there,” Poush told WPVI . And he is encouraging others to help in their communities as well.
Warmer temperatures ahead
There are still more than 25 million under severe freeze warning in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. But by the end of the weekend, temperatures will slowly be out of the subzero range. And next week, they must be in the 60s and 70s.
In the Northeast, more than 60 million are under winter warnings, but the vast majority of them expire by the end of this Friday. Ice accumulation is expected in parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. And much of the Northeast will see at least three to eight centimeters of snow until the end of the storm system.
The eastern parts of the Carolinas and Georgia are under flood surveillance and expect to have about two to three inches of rain.
Robert Shackelford of CNN contributed to this story.