01/20/2024 7:39 pm (current 01/20/2024 7:39 pm)
Cold front advances across much of the United States ©APA/AFP
A cold front is moving through large parts of the US – due to strong winds, temperatures have reached minus 40 degrees in some places. US media reported on Saturday that dozens of people had died as a result of the cold snap. According to NBC, there have been at least 59 weather-related deaths across multiple states since January 12.
According to media reports, 17 people have died in Tennessee so far, including a man trying to clear snow from the roof of his home. In Oregon, three people were killed by a power line that was downed in an ice storm, and a baby narrowly survived the incident. Two people died of hypothermia in Louisiana. In Missouri, several visitors to a football game at the stadium had to be treated by paramedics due to freezing temperatures on Saturday. Texas appealed to its residents to conserve energy due to freezing temperatures.
Extremely cold temperatures are expected to pass by mid-week at the latest. Temperatures will be above average for this time of year starting Tuesday, according to the Climate Prediction Center. Forecasters said Friday that there is a high probability that the weather will remain unseasonably warm at least until early February. Only Alaska is expected to remain exceptionally cold.