Winter storm leaves 7 dead, millions in the dark across U.S

International

A MASSIVE “arctic siege” is currently gripping the United States, leaving over a million households in the dark and claiming lives as a brutal corridor of snow, ice, and freezing rain stretches from Texas to New England.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued stark warnings of "life-threatening" conditions expected to persist for several days, a report by BBC said.

What began as a seasonal shift has evolved into a national emergency, with nearly half of all U.S. states declaring emergencies and the U.S. Senate scrapping scheduled votes to contend with the fallout. The human cost of the storm is becoming increasingly clear.

Over half the U.S. population—roughly 180 million people—is bracing for a dangerous mix of heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain. This storm brings the specific threat of "glaze," a phenomenon where supercooled rain freezes instantly on contact with surfaces.

In Louisiana, health officials confirmed two hypothermia deaths in Caddo Parish, while Texas reported an exposure-related fatality in Austin. In New York City, authorities are investigating five deaths from Saturday potentially linked to the record-breaking cold.

"It is a reminder that every year New Yorkers succumb to the cold," said New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in the report.

Governor Kathy Hochul has advised New Yorkers to stay off the roads and shelter in place as the storm moves in.

"This is certainly the coldest weather we've seen, the coldest winter storm we've seen in years," she said on Sunday.

"A sort of an arctic siege has taken over our state and many other states across the nation," she added.

Infrastructure remains under immense strain; as of Sunday afternoon, more than 1 million households were without electricity, and FlightAware reported over 10,000 flight cancellations, grounding travel nationwide. While northern states are accustomed to the deep freeze, the Southern U.S. is facing a rare and dangerous phenomenon: significant ice accretion.

States like Tennessee and Louisiana are seeing temperatures 15–20°C below seasonal averages. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear noted that his state is seeing more ice than originally predicted, a shift he described as "not good news for Kentucky," as ice accumulations threaten to snap trees and down power lines. In Virginia, the hazardous conditions have already caused more than 200 reported car crashes, according to local media.

Meteorologists attribute the severity of the storm to a disruption in the polar vortex—a ring of Arctic winds that, when weakened, allows frigid air to plunge southward into the heart of the country.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul characterized the event as the most "brutal" in years, warning that the "bone-chilling" conditions are far from over. Recovery is expected to be grueling.(Jhon Mark A. Aboabo, USJ-R Comm Intern)