Dangerous freezing air from the Arctic continued sweeping across the US on Monday, prolonging a bitter cold blast that has set record-low temperatures and disrupted daily life across a broad swath of America, including an NFL playoff game and the presidential nominating contest in Iowa.
From Oregon on the west coast to New York state on the east coast and all the way down to Florida, the US grappled with the effects of a weather system that hit tens of millions of people.
The National Weather Service said wind chills were expected to push temperatures to -30F (-34C) from the northern Rockies to northern Kansas and into Iowa, testing the hardiness of caucus-goers willing to brave the deep chill on Monday and prompting dire warnings of the risk of frostbite for those venturing outside.
Arctic storms left at least four dead and knocked out electricity to tens of thousands in the north-west, brought snow to the south and walloped the north-east with blizzard conditions forcing the postponement of the Pittsburgh Steelers v Buffalo Bills NFL playoff game hosted in bone-chilling conditions in Buffalo, New York.
Sub-zero wind chills will grip much of the country, plunging to -50F (-45C) in Montana and the Dakotas.
“It takes a matter of minutes for frostbite to set in,” the South Dakota department of public safety said in a statement on Sunday urging people to stay indoors.
Other parts of the country could see temperatures drop 25 to 40 degrees fahrenheit below normal, from the Rockies to the Ohio Valley.
As temperatures in Texas plunged, the state’s power grid operator appealed to residents to voluntarily conserve electricity on Monday morning due to the cold weather causing “record-breaking demand” for energy.
A deadly freeze in Texas in 2021 left millions of people without power but state officials this week expressed confidence about the grid’s reliability as the cold front approached.
Freezing rain is expected to pelt parts of the southern plains and southern Appalachians.
Even Florida will not be spared from turbulent weather, with forecasts predicting showers and thunderstorms from Monday into Tuesday.
In Oregon, more than 120,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, most of them in the Portland metro area, a day after high winds and a mix of snow and ice brought down trees and power lines.
Some 100 trees toppled over the weekend in a community just south of Portland, including one that fell on a house and killed a man. Two other people died of suspected hypothermia and a fourth died in a fire that spread from an open-flame stove after a tree fell on to an RV.
Widespread power outages affecting tens of thousands were also reported on Sunday in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In Nebraska, the Omaha Public Power District asked customers to conserve electricity to prevent outages.
Airports across the country were impacted. More than half of flights into and out of Buffalo Niagara international airport were canceled. Scores of flights also were canceled or delayed at Chicago, Denver and Seattle-Tacoma airports.
The Associated Press contributed reporting