Hundreds of thousands are at risk in the aftermath of this weekend’s massive snowstorm with more than 700,000 homes without power across the U.S. amid freezing conditions, according to outage data.
Tens of thousands more were stranded or unable to travel due to Winter Storm Fern. Over 12,000 flights were cancelled Sunday, while over 5,000 were canceled Monday, according to data from FlightAware.
The storm’s death toll has reached at least 25 people. Nearly 180 million people have been in the path of widespread heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain in an area spanning the southern Rocky Mountains to New England in recent days, according to the National Weather Service.
Live data from Find Energy, which tracks power outages, showed that Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee were the most affected by power outages, while Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia also had more than 10,000 customers affected.
Eddie Swords of New Albany, Mississippi, told CBS News that the constant cracking limbs and falling trees sounded “like a firecracker popping.”
Swords said his power was out but he had a home generator, “thank goodness.” He and a friend had to chainsaw a path in and out of his neighborhood so they could get fuel, and the pair planned to hunker down together, extending an invitation to other locals.
“I told anybody who wants to come down, ‘I got natural gas that’s good and toasted in there right now,'” Swords said.
Power line companies reported “catastrophic damage” in a number of states, warning that power restoration could take “weeks instead of days” for some customers.
On Sunday evening, Mississippi utility company Oxford Utilities pulled its crews off the road due to life-threatening conditions.
“Trees are actively snapping and falling around our linemen while they are in the bucket trucks,” the company said in a statement.
Mississippi’s Department of Transportation has struggled to keep up, road worker John Sanford told CBS News.
“We’re spread thin on equipment here, because there’s so many guys in different directions and we’re out here having to mainly do this where usually we would need a backhoe or bulldozer, something to help move this stuff,” said Sanford.
“One of the guys that worked with us, he couldn’t make it back this morning. He’s got two trees on his house.”
Sanford said the biggest challenges were cold and exhaustion: “You just get physically tired and you know, there’s more and more trees falling, people needing help. The minute you get one cleaned up, another one falls.”
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has so far been the worst-hit with 338 flights canceled Monday, according to FlightAware, which tracks delays and cancellations.
Boston Logan International also had 315 flights canceled by noon. Five other airports also had over 200 flights canceled: Charlotte/Douglas International, Reagan National in Washington D.C., and Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, and John F. Kennedy International in the New York area.
Those cancellations came on the heels of almost 4,000 canceled flights Saturday and more than 12,000 Sunday.
A private aircraft carrying eight people crashed while attempting to take off from Bangor International Airport in Maine during the storm Sunday night. A government official briefed on the incident said the aircraft was engulfed in flames and seven people were later confirmed dead.
Five people died after being stuck outside in New York City. A Texas man was found dead in a gas station parking lot from apparent hypothermia, and a 16-year-old girl died in a sledding accident in Frisco, Texas, Sunday, according to Fox 4 News.
Three people died in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, the county coroner said, ranging in age from 60 to 84 years old.
“I remind the public to use caution when shoveling snow … especially individuals with a history of heart disease or other medical concerns,” the coroner said in a statement published by ABC News.
In Arkansas, a 17-year-old boy died after hitting a tree while being pulled by an ATV in the snow, according to the Saline County Sheriff’s Office. Boston ABC affiliate WCVB reported the death of a Massachusetts woman who died after a snowplow backed into her in a parking lot.
An additional three deaths have been reported in Tennessee, two in Louisiana, and one in Kansas.
President Donald Trump has approved emergency declarations for a dozen states, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem – who oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency – said supplies, staff and search and rescue teams were being deployed across the country.
“We just ask that everyone would be smart – stay home if possible,” Noem said.
Wind chills in the Midwest have plunged to -40F, a bone-chilling cold that could cause frostbite to set in within minutes.
