Washington: At least 34 people have died amid a monster winter storm over the weekend that unleashed freezing temperatures and heavy snow across dozens of states, causing power outages and treacherous road conditions for emergency responders.
Ice, freezing rain and snow began falling across parts of the South from Texas to Kansas beginning Friday, Jan. 23 and shifted eastward Sunday, Jan. 25, bringing a mix of wintry conditions from the Carolinas to New York.
The treacherous conditions have so far been linked to 34 deaths in 14 states, including one each in Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina and New Jersey; two each in Arkansas, Massachusetts, and Mississippi; three each in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Louisiana; four in Tennessee; and nine in New York.
Cold temperatures are expected to linger into the week, raising further health concerns for those without power or shelter.
In central Arkansas, a 17-year-old boy died in a sledding incident on Saturday, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to USA TODAY. The teen was being pulled by an ATV when he struck a tree and sustained critical injuries.
The Arkansas Division of Emergency Management confirmed on Monday that there was a second death in the state involving an ATV. A 40-year-old man died in an accident near Hope, a city in southwestern Arkansas.
Authorities in Emporia, about an hour southwest of Topeka, say a 28-year-old woman “succumbed to hypothermia” related to the storm after she was reported missing Friday, according to reporting by The Topeka Capital-Journal, part of USA TODAY Network.
Officials found Rebecca Rauber’s body in a wooded area at 5:07 p.m. Sunday, more than 24 hours after she left a local bar in Emporia and was reported missing. Police said Rauber may have become hypothermic “early on in her disappearance as she was covered in snow due to the snowstorm that became heavy on Saturday.”
Gov. Andy Beshear posted to X on Monday that a 72-year-old woman in Whitley County died of hypothermia.
Two men in northwest Louisianadied of hypothermia related to the winter storm, the Louisiana Department of Health confirmed on Sunday.
In a news release on Monday, the state health department announced a third winter storm-related death. An 86-year-old man died due to carbon monoxide poisoning in DeSoto Parish, part of the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area.
