Death Toll Rising From Winter Storm As Parts Of Country Remain In Sub-Freezing Temperatures

Winter Storm Fern is responsible for at least 17 deaths so far, with fatalities reported in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Kansas, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Arkansas.

Officials in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Louisiana have each reported three deaths. Mississippi and Texas have reported two deaths each. The other states have reported one death each, per officials.

The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed that an 86-year-old man died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves also confirmed two weather-related fatalities from the winter storm, per NBC News. Ohio police announced a tragic incident in which a snowmobiler was struck and killed by a plow truck.

Fox Weather reported on the death of a 16-year-old girl in Frisco, Texas. The teenager died after a sledding crash, and another teenager is in critical condition. Local police said the two were being pulled by an SUV when the sled hit a tree.

In Pennsylvania, the coroner’s office said three people died in three separate medical incidents while they were cleaning up snow on Sunday, according to Fox Weather. The outlet also reported that a Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority snowplow struck a married couple who were on a walk. The wife died from her injuries.

In New York, several deaths are being investigated as potentially weather-related, so the number of dead could rise.

The Northeast is getting the last bit of snowfall from the storm, but the bitter cold temperatures aren’t moving out.

According to The Weather Channel, the cold could last well into next week. The National Weather Service has issued extreme cold alerts in parts of the Midwest, South, and Ohio Valley as the frigid air arrives.

More than a dozen low-temperature records were broken Monday morning. Some of the cities that dropped to their lowest temperatures include: New Orleans at 27 degrees, San Antonio and Austin at 19 degrees, Tulsa at 0 degrees, and Springfield, Missouri, at a record -11 degrees.

The Arctic blast will refreeze existing ice and snow, making power outages worse, especially in the South, where ice has been the biggest threat.

The cold temperatures are devastating to regions of the country dealing with power outages. There are more than 800,000 people without power, including 250,000 in Tennessee alone.

In Mississippi, more than 145,750 people are without power. Louisiana isn’t far behind, with 117,325 customers still in the dark. Texas has nearly 50,000 without power.