Arctic air over Plains shatters record temperatures in North Dakota as Kentucky flooding death toll rises
More than 95 million people in the U.S. are facing gripping cold Tuesday as a polar vortex sends temperatures plunging to record levels, closing schools, bursting pipes and forcing communities to set up more temporary shelters for the homeless. Meanwhile, deadly flood-battered Kentucky braced for the winter storm.
"Some of the coldest temperatures of the entire winter season right now across the central United States," said Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The harsh cold descended on the nation's midsection Monday on the heels of weekend storms that pummeled the Eastern U.S. killing at least 17 people, including at least 14 in Kentucky and three in West Virginia who died from flooding from heavy rains. Some areas in the Midwest have wind chills as cold as -50 to -60 degrees, Orrison said.
It is so dangerous that hundreds of public school districts canceled classes or switched to online learning Tuesday in Oklahoma, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Kansas and Missouri. And in Kansas City, Kansas, dozens of tents were set up in one building to house the homeless.
Meteorologists said several states would experience the tenth and coldest polar vortex event this season. Weather forces in the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air that usually stays near the North Pole into the U.S. and Europe.
In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday said the severe weather death toll had risen from 12 to 14, CBS affiliate WLKY reported, with the two latest fatalities in Jefferson County, which includes Louisville. The two, an adult male and an adult female, were apparently homeless and both appeared to die from hypothermia, he said. Beshear said most of the deaths, including a mother and 7-year-old child, were caused by cars getting stuck in high water.
Kentucky now braces for a winter storm that could dump a half-foot or more of snow in some parts of the Bluegrass State, starting Wednesday.
"This is a snowstorm in the middle of a natural disaster," Beshear said at a news conference Tuesday in Frankfort, the capital city.
Beshear said snow that's forecast to hit the state would complicate flood response efforts. "We're going to have to make sure that we've got everyone who is displaced because of this flooding in a warm place for the days that are coming ahead," the governor said.
President Trump approved Kentucky's request for a disaster declaration, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts throughout the state.
Parts of Kentucky and Tennessee received up to 6 inches of rain as severe storms swept across the South. Water submerged cars and buildings in Kentucky and mudslides blocked roads in Virginia.
In southern West Virginia, officials said the three flood-related deaths were in McDowell County, where multiple roads were destroyed, public water systems were severed, schools remain closed and thousands were still without power Tuesday. The county has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation.
In Atlanta, a person was killed when a large tree fell on a home early Sunday.
In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as the National Weather Service forecast the approaching storm could bring up to 9 inches in far northeastern counties near the Atlantic coast.
In Alabama, the weather service in Birmingham said it had confirmed an EF1 tornado touched down in Hale County. Storms there and elsewhere in the state destroyed or damaged a handful of mobile homes, downed trees and toppled power lines, but no injuries were immediately reported.
A state of emergency was declared for parts of Obion County, Tennessee, after a levee failed on Saturday, flooding the small community of Rives, home to around 300 people in the western part of the state. "There will be mandatory evacuations in effect for the residents in Rives due to the rising water, no electricity, and freezing temperatures creating a life-threatening situation," Mayor Steve Carr said in a statement Sunday.
The mother and child were swept away Saturday night in Kentucky's Bonnieville community, Hart County Coroner Tony Roberts said. In southeastern Kentucky, a 73-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in Clay County, county Emergency Management Deputy Director Revelle Berry said.
The Kentucky River Medical Center in the city of Jackson said it had closed its emergency department and transferred all patients to two other hospitals in the region due to a nearby river flooding.
High winds brought down trees and power poles across Albermarle County, Virginia. The Charlottesville Police Department said Sunday on social media that officers' response times could be delayed due to "an overwhelming number of weather-related calls for service." Police urged residents to stay off the roads.
Power outages were reported along much of the Eastern Seaboard, from New York south to Georgia.
Ice and snow made road travel treacherous in large swaths of Michigan, which remained under a winter weather advisory until Monday afternoon. Michigan State Police reported 114 crashes Sunday around the Detroit area since snow started falling Saturday.
"Fortunately, most were one-car spin outs and there were no serious injuries," Michigan State Police said on X.
Authorities in Colorado reported eight people were killed in fatal vehicle crashes since Valentine's Day and warned drivers to be cautious as the weather made driving more difficult. The causes of the fatal crashes weren't immediately known.
Also in Colorado, three state patrol cruisers that had pulled over along roadsides were struck by other vehicles, including one on Sunday where a trooper had stopped as officials prepared to close a road because of ice. In each case the troopers were out of their cruisers at the time and were uninjured.
Avalanche warnings were issued for numerous areas of the Rocky Mountains, with the danger rated high in portions of Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.
