Winter storm live updates: Dangerous weather across U.S. proves deadly (2024)

Workers bear frigid temperatures to clear snow in Iowa

As rough weather continued to torment the East Coast, a public transit bus in Philadelphia lost grip and slid backward down a city street, NBC Philadelphia reported tonight.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority bus splayed out diagonally as its tires searched for traction until it struck a fire hydrant and a parked car and came to a rest in the Manayunk neighborhood, the station said.

SEPTA reported no injuries, the station added. The agency said detours were in effect for some of its bus lines because road conditions were dangerously icy.

The National Weather Service office that serves Philadelphia said the city was likely to get 4 inches of snow overnight.

As people across most of the U.S. turned up the heat and stayed inside amid frigid temperatures, Montana took the title for the coldest temperature in the country today.

An area 13 miles north of Sulphur Springs, Montana, recorded a temperature of minus 42 degrees, the National Weather Service said.

The warmest was near Sunniland, Florida, around 50 miles southeast of Fort Myers, which had a temperature of 85 degrees, according to the agency.

January's arctic blast was both a character and a factor in the NFL postseason over the last few days.

It produced the fourth-coldest NFL game ever for the Kansas City Chiefs' 26-7 win over the normally tropical Miami Dolphins on Saturday night. Then it caused a postponement for the Buffalo Bills-Pittsburgh Steelers game, scheduled just as the worst of the cold spell, including single-digit temperatures and snow, arrived yesterday.

The rescheduled wild card game tonight was no day at the beach, either. The Bills' Highmark Stadium was blanketed in so much powder before the matchup that the team said it had 200 openings for temporary snow shovelers to work starting at midnight before the game for $20 an hour.

It's not clear how that might benefit a home team, but the Bills seemed comfortably in command for much of the game — despite the Steelers' own cold weather bona fides. Fans did their part, tossing puffs of snow for each Bills score, giving the venue a touch of sparkly, Las Vegas superclub vibes, supplemented by confetti or streamers.

Temperatures when wind chill is factored were near zero, the NFL said. For the Chiefs game, it was an estimated 27 below zero with wind chill included as a factor.

Bills coach Sean McDermott improved his cold weather supremacy to 11-1 in regular season and postseason wins and losses when the kickoff temperature is 32 degrees or colder.

There were 3,071 flights within, into or out of the U.S. that were canceled today, according to a flight tracking website, on a day when there were ground stops at some airports due to the winter weather gripping the country.

The most canceled flights were at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where 509 arriving or departing flights were canceled, according to the website FlightAware.

Second-most was also in Texas, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, with a combined 441 cancellations, according to the site.

Both airports said that the weather was affecting travel and causing planes to de-ice. They advised passengers to budget extra time.

It was 22 degrees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at around 7:30 p.m. local time, but the wind chill made it feel like 7 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Houston was 26 degrees with a wind chill of 14 degrees, the weather service said.

Weather has been blamed in two more deaths in the South today.

A person was killed overnight in a crash on Highway 49 in Humphreys County, Mississippi, just south of Silver City, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.

Additional details were unavailable.

The agency urged motorists to keep vehicles parked amid temperatures in the 20s and "ice on roads and bridges" in multiple counties, according to the state Transportation Department.

The state Health Department reported a weather-related death in Shelby County, home to Memphis, but did not provide additional details.

At least seven deaths are confirmed to have been related to the weather since Friday, when successive winter storms began to strike amid an arctic blast and expanded to cover states from the West to the Plains, the Midwest to the South.

The toll is likely to grow as officials confirm the storms and weather played a role in deaths.

A backcountry skier was killed yesterday in an avalanche he may have triggered in Prater Canyon, Wyoming, according to the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center.

The center's director, Frank Carus, said the skier had been with someone else on snowmobiles before exploring the area on skis.

The survivor said he heard an avalanche nearby, Carus wrote in an accident report, so the pair sought safety several hundred feet away. The deceased "diverted from intended route and triggered a soft slab, 2-3' thick and 50' wide" that ultimately buried the person under 2 feet of snow and debris, according to an earlier summary.

The survivor quickly rescued his partner and then performed 1½ hours of CPR in an unsuccessful attempt to revive the skier, Carus said.

The pair were pulled from the area by helicopter because it was too dangerous to reach them by ground, Carus said.

The area, near the Idaho boundary and about 60 miles south of Grand Teton National Forest, was the subject of a high danger warning from the center, according to its reports.

It is the third avalanche death in the 2023-24 winter, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

On Thursday, a backcountry skier was killed in Shoshone County, Idaho; the previous day, a 66-year-old visitor to Palisades Tahoe ski resort in Olympic Valley, California, was killed when a slide described by authorities as 10 feet deep enveloped multiple park users and injured one.

Four campers who became trapped were rescued in Kentucky today, Gov. Andy Beshear said as he urged residents to be careful and make good decisions amid a winter storm with very low temperatures.

The four people rescued by helicopter from the Red River Gorge are OK, Beshear said.

“We want to make sure that everyone is safe, that everyone is making good decisions,” Beshear said at a news conference.

He warned of “very, very low temperatures,” especially tomorrow morning, when forecasters predict a minimum wind chill of zero to minus 10 degrees. Even tomorrow morning, wind chills are predicted to be a minimum of 5 to minus 5 degrees.

“It is so cold and will be so cold that it is tough for the salt and other treatments for the roads to work — meaning roads can be slick anywhere throughout Kentucky,” Beshear said.

He urged people to drive slow and carefully and said that if they must travel they should have emergency kits.

“Remember, you can be slower, doing everything that you can, and there could be a backup caused by another accident, and that emergency supply kit could be the difference in you being comfortable and being very uncomfortable or even needing help,” Beshear said.

A 59-year-old Arkansas man died and a woman with him was injured in a crash yesterday northeast of Little Rock, according to a state Department of Public Safety report.

The crash happened at 2:09 p.m. on Highway 13 in White County, after the driver’s Ford F250 truck left the snow-covered road and crashed into a tree, according to the report.

A cause of the crash was not listed. Conditions were listed as snow on the roadway.

Most of the snow has moved out of Arkansas, the National Weather Service said late this afternoon. Little Rock got 2.4 inches yesterday. White County is around 30 miles northeast of the city.

In Utah, where almost 4 feet of snow fell in the mountains over 24 hours, a snowmobiler was struck and killed last night by a semitrailer about 70 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.

The person who was killed was among four snowmobilers who were trying to cross U.S. Highway 40 in the Strawberry Reservoir area.

The inclement weather has caused flights to be halted at Nashville International Airport in Tennessee, authorities announced around 4 p.m. CT. It was later lifted.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a ground stop because of the weather, the airport said on X.

The airport previously said it was preparing by using deicing material on surfaces. The ground stop was lifted as of 5:15 p.m., the airport said.

The Nashville area is expecting an additional 1 to 2 inches of snow through tonight, the National Weather Service said.

The city hit 12 degrees F earlier in the day, and forecasters warned of dangerously cold wind chills.

Snow fell across the South this weekend and today, suddenly covering communities better known for brutal summers in a winter's blanket.

• St. Joe, Arkansas, has so far received 8 inches of snow.
• Hendersonville, Tennessee, took in 7.5 inches.
• Glencoe, Arkansas, was hit by 6 inches.
• Nashville and Fairview, Tennessee, and Piney, Arkansas, all received 5 inches.
• Memphis, Tennessee, and Little Rock, Arkansas, both recorded 4 inches.

The deaths of three people who have been found in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, since Friday are being investigated as probable hypothermia cases, the medical examiner’s office said.

All three people were unhoused, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said Monday.

A 64-year-old man was found under a bridge Friday, a 69-year-old man was discovered Saturday in a vehicle he had been using as a shelter, and a 40-year-old man was found dead shortly before 10 a.m. today “on a heating mechanism near the railroad tracks,” the office said.

Temperatures in Milwaukee reached the mid-30s Friday afternoon but dropped into the 20s and teens Saturday, according to records of the National Weather Service.

Today, it was minus 1 degree around 10 a.m., with a wind chill of negative 20.

Ice-slicked roads posed danger to drivers across Mississippi, and authorities are asking residents to steer clear of roadways.

As of this morning, "30 counties have reports of ice" on Mississippi roads and bridges, according to the state Transportation Department.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, or MEMA, asked residents to "stay off of the roads if possible and only travel in areas affected by winter weather if necessary."

"Temperatures will reach dangerous cold levels today through Wednesday morning, MEMA is asking families to have a disaster go-kit at home and in their vehicle if they must travel," the agency added.

When Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass put his foot into ball at 4:32 p.m., the Bills-Pittsburgh Steelers playoff game was finally underway in 14-degree Orchard Park, New York.

The field appeared to be clear, but piles of snow still filled rows of seating despite weekendlong efforts to clear Highmark Stadium stands.

The game had been set for 1 p.m. yesterday, but heavy, blinding snow forced it to be pushed to a rare Monday afternoon kickoff.

A huge area of the country, stretching from central Montana to western Ohio and south to Arkansas and Austin, Texas, is under advisories or warnings of bitterly cold wind chills this afternoon.

About 125 million people are dealing with either wind chill advisories or warnings, according to the National Weather Service. Those under a wind chill warning were around 35 1/2 million.

Hard freeze warnings also covered Texas and the South, affecting around 37 million people.

Winter storm warnings also covered a swath from eastern Texas to West Virginia, and winter weather advisories covered Washington, D.C., through New York City and into Maine.

The wind chills were bitterly cold.

Des Moines, Iowa, was zero degrees shortly before 3 p.m. — but the wind chill was 21 below zero, the weather service said. Kansas City, Missouri, was 2 degrees, but the wind chill was minus 13 degrees. And Austin was 23 degrees with a wind chill of 15.

Light to moderate snow is falling from the Tennessee Valley to the Mid-Atlantic this afternoon, and could linger long enough to impact tomorrow morning's commute.

Snow is being reported in Richmond, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia, and will begin in New York City tonight, all in the range between 1 and 3 inches.

Energy operators asked Texans to conserve as much power as possible tomorrow as usage is expected to spike as the workweek gets underway.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said Texans need to cut back as much as possible between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. tomorrow.

"This morning, ERCOT avoided emergency operations due to the conservation efforts by Texas residents and businesses, combined with additional grid reliability tools," the council said in a statement.

Memphis public schools will not be open for classes tomorrow or Wednesday as extreme winter continues to pound southwest Tennessee.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools made the move "out of an abundance of caution for our students and staff," who would be forced to traverse dangerous roads, the state's largest school system said in a statement today.

The Shelby County mayor declared a state of emergency this afternoon after the region had already recorded several inches of snow.

"Please stay off the streets today, and if you can do it safely, please check in on your neighbors," Lee Harris said.

More than 2,000 flights within, to or out of the United States had been canceled by 2:30 p.m. ET today as weather wreaked havoc at airports across the country.

At least 2,228 flights had been pulled off the boards, as scores of travelers headed to or from hubs including Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Houston and Nashville were forced to make new plans, according to the tracking system FlightAware.

The blue seats of Highmark Stadium near Buffalo have finally emerged from their snowy white cover, as the host Bills and the visiting Steelers get ready to play in about two hours.

"There's snow place like home," the Bills said.

It's expected to be a little more than 16 degrees at kickoff in Orchard Park, New York.

Daniel Cole uses a plastic spoon today to scrape ice from the front of his vehicle in downtown Florence, Alabama.

At least five deaths have been attributed to the ongoing snowy and frigid conditions blanketing much of America.

Drivers were killed in two separate crashes in Humphrey County, Mississippi, and White County, Arkansas, yesterday, authorities there said.

Trees fell and killed people in Portland and Lake Oswego, Oregon, on Saturday, officials said.

And a man died while removing snow from a driveway in Franklin, Wisconsin, just outside Milwaukee, a medical examiner said.

FedEx warned customers that deliveries, set for today, might not make it on time due to inclement weather across America —and particularly at its Memphis hub.

"The safety of our team members remains our number one priority," the company said in statement. "FedEx is committed to provide service to the best of our ability."

Up to 4 inches of snow could fall on southwestern Tennessee today.

A truck flipped on its side near Houston this morning, as Texas authorities pleaded with drivers to take it easy on roadways covered in snow or ice.

Traffic in both directions on Interstate 10, near Farm to Market Road359, were closed in Waller County, just west of Houston, as state troopers investigated a rollover.

"There is some ice on the roads, so drive carefully and check road conditions before you go," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement. "Stay off the roads if you can."

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — Caucusgoers will have to fight through the snow if they want their voices heard in tonight's opening GOP presidential battle.

Unlike a primary, in which voters have the option of casting a mail ballot or vote early, a caucus requires attendance at an exact time and spot.

When potential Haley supporter Emma Farmer was asked if she'd brave the conditions to caucus, she smiled and honestly answered: "It depends how cold it is. The plan is a tentative yes."

Brooklyn Kern plans to caucus for Trump and said she believes her candidate will benefit from bad weather: "I feel like Trump supporters have always had this determination and this will to go out and do things that others don't want to."

Nashville beat New York to the first inch of snow this season, as 1.3 inches fell yesterday in Music City.

The country music capital reached that 1.0 mark before traditional winter hubs such asWashington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York.

It’s still coming down in and around Nashville, with this storm dropping up to 4 inches by the time snow ends later today.

The Texas cities of Houston and San Antonio, along with Baltimore, are among the places to have canceled MLK Day events today because of the extremely cold conditions and winter weather warnings.

"The cancellation comes as officials closely monitored the changing weather conditions, which have brought extreme cold temperatures and precipitation through the area," the city of San Antonio said in a statement early today confirming the cancellation of planned marches.

The city of Houston said in a statement that parades planned for today could not take place because of safety concerns of the police and local officials, and would be rescheduled.

Baltimore is due to be hit with heavy snow and officials said that today's events could be rescheduled.

A travel ban in the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna will end at 1 p.m. ET, the last such restriction in Erie County during this winter storm.

Most main roads in that community are good to go, but crews will need more time "to clean up some neighborhoods/side streets," according to a statement by county Executive Mark Poloncarz.

While this is certainly a welcome development, many residents of western New York just want to make sure the Steelers-Bills game is happening.

The mercury should be hovering around 17 degrees, with wind chill making it feel below zero, when the Steelers and the Bills tee it up at Highmark Stadium a little after 4:30 p.m.

The worst of this past weekend's snowfall — when 8 inches fell on nearby Buffalo Niagara International Airport — should be done by this afternoon. The Steelers-Bills game had been scheduled for yesterday before the game was moved to this afternoon because of the storm.

A Steelers upset win would send Pittsburgh to Baltimore for the next round of the AFC playoffs, while the Chiefs would play host to the Houston Texans. Should Buffalo hold serve, the Bills would entertain the defending champion, Kansas City Chiefs, and Houston would head to Baltimore.

The rescheduled playoff matchup between the Bills and the Steelers is set to kickoff at 4.30 p.m. today, but there's one problem: there's a lot of snow on the field.

The game couldn't take place yesterday as planned because of Arctic conditions and safety concerns — but now the Bills say they need fans to get down to Highmark Stadium and get shoveling.

The Bills made their plea on their website alongside a picture of a playing field blanketed in snow.

The offer was open to the first 200 shovelers to turn up after midnight and shovel through the morning. The work is paid at $20 an hour, with free breakfast and drinks.

Video shot at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, before the Chiefs game Saturday showed a bottle of water freezing in real-time.

A 59-year-old man died yesterday when his car hit a tree in snowy and icy conditions in Arkansas, officials said today.

John Gerke died after a collision at 2:09 p.m. near Searcy, according the Arkansas Department of Public Safety. Also in the car was Heather Gerke, 47, who was listed as injured. Both were from the city of Searcy.

The department said the car was headed north on Highway 31 when it crossed the centerline of the road and drove off the left side before hitting a tree.

Along with much of the state, Searcy is under a winter weather advisory notice from the weather service which urges motorists to be careful and be prepared for bad weather.

At least three other people died from weather-related events over the weekend.

A star-struck Green Bay Packers fan couldn’t believe her eyes when quarterback Jordan Love stepped over to help free her car after it got stuck in snow.

Lucy Kurowski, 20, shared a picture of herself and the NFL star on Instagram on Friday, days before Love led his team to a48-32 winover the Dallas Cowboys in the playoff wildcard round yesterday.

Read the full story here

Orchard Park, south of Buffalo, was given a display of thundersnow last night, according to video posted to X by one local.

The footage was taken near the Buffalo Bills' stadium, where the playoff game against Pittsburgh was due to be held yesterday, but was postponed to 4:30 p.m. today.

NBC News' Al Roker explained how thundersnow can happen, back in 2017.

An aerial view reveals a basketball court covered in snow in Des Moines yesterday.

Chicago has opened warming centers to offer a safe space for residents after the weather service issued a two-day winter weather warning over temperatures as low as minus 30 with wind chill.

The warning came into effect at midnight and lasts until Wednesday. "Residents can expect extreme cold and should limit time spent outdoors. Impacts include slippery road conditions due to ice and the wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes," the city government said in a statement.

The Harold Washington Library at 400 S. State St. has turned its entire lower floor as a 24-hour warming center, while six community centers run by the Department of Family Support Services will be used for the same purpose from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. whenever temperatures fall to 32 or below.

The overnight temperature in Chicago was around minus 9 degrees but felt like minus 33 with the wind chill.

Winter weather warnings were still in place early today affecting communities across the continental U.S., from Oregon to New Orleans and from Michigan to Maine, according to a new graphic released by the weather service after 6 a.m. ET.

More than 102 million were placed under a wind chill advisory that covers a huge swath of the U.S., from the Plains into the Rockies and into Texas.

More than 72 million were placed under winter weather advisories.

Some 22 million were placed under a winter storm warning, including much of Colorado, Utah, upstate New York and a wide band stretching from West Virginia to Texas.

Other places were hit with warnings and advisories over a hard freeze, dense fog and rip tides.

Traffic navigates past a tractor trailer wrecked on the eastbound side of Interstate 80 yesterday near Williamsburg, Iowa. Subzero temperatures and blizzardlike weather had forced presidential campaigns to adjust, postpone or cancel events just days before the all-important Iowa caucuses, the first primary competition of the 2024 election year.

The weather service said in a message on X early today that the extreme winter weather would continue through the day, with a winter storm moving from Texas to the Appalachians, while freezing rain will be seen as far south as the western Gulf Coast on Louisiana.

A series of dangerous winter storms impacted tens of millions of people across the U.S. over the weekend. From the West Coast to the Great Lakes, communities were pelted with a wintry mix, and thousands of flight delays were reported nationwide. NBC News’ Jesse Kirsch reports.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared astate of emergencylast night as winter storms continue to bear down on the state, bringing large amounts of snow and ice.

The state government warned that the cold could affect utilities and travel conditions. The emergency protocol allows the governor to unlock state resources to assist people.

“We continue to ask Kentuckians to stay weather-aware as snow accumulation and below-freezing temperatures continue to sweep through the commonwealth,” Beshear said in a statement. “Please checkgoky.ky.govbefore you travel, and check in on your neighbors, loved ones and pets.”

At the same time, he activated the state's price-gouging laws, to stop vendors profiteering from a shortage of goods and services during the bad weather.

At least two Buffalo Bills players made it out in last night’s blizzard, despite the fact that they weren’t expected at Highmark Stadium as was initially planned.

Their playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was postponed until today because of the dangerous weather conditions.

Offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark shared an Instagram video showing lineman Alec Anderson helping a person who was struggling to drive on the icy and snowy roads.

“Good Samaritan, Alec, helping the people,” Van Denmark said in the brief clip of Anderson helping a driver.

Brutally cold temperatures are gripping Iowa, where the official kickoff to the presidential election is hours away. NBC News’ Garrett Haake, Ali Vitali and Dasha Burns have the latest in the countdown to the Iowa caucuses.