Perilously cold temperatures threatened millions of Americans in the wake of a sprawling winter storm that left at least 23 people dead as it knocked out power and paralysed transportation.
A frigid, life-threatening Arctic air mass could delay recovery as municipalities from New Mexico to Maine tried to dig out following the storm, which dropped a vicious cocktail of heavy snow and wind, along with freezing rain and sleet.
Forecasters warned that much of the northern half of the country will see temperatures that are “continuously below freezing through February 1,” and “record low temperatures tonight across the South are particularly dangerous in the wake of the weekend winter storm with many still without power,” the National Weather Service said in an X post.
While skies began clearing in parts the country, relentless snowfall in the northeast meant parts of Connecticut saw over 22 inches of snow, with more than 16 inches recorded in Boston, Massachusetts.
The storm was linked to at least 23 deaths, according to a compilation of state government and local media reports, with causes including hypothermia as well as accidents related to traffic, sledding, ATVs and snowplows.
One man was found in the snow, unresponsive, with a shovel in his hand.
In New York City, eight more people were found dead amid plummeting temperatures, and an investigation to determine the causes was underway. It was not known if all of these fatalities were storm-related.
