Powerful storm threatens an East Coast still buried under last week's snow
About 240 million people were under cold weather advisories and winter storm warnings Saturday as a powerful system threatened to bring howling winds, flooding and heavy snow to the East Coast as the region continued to dig out from last week's frigid winter weather.
Temperatures were plummeting on Saturday, with a low of minus 27 degrees Fahrenheit recorded in West Virginia, said Bob Oravec, the lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.
More than 127,000 homes and businesses, mostly in Mississippi and Tennessee, remain without power after last week's storm, according to poweroutage.us.
In Nashville, Tennessee, where temperatures were in the teens on Saturday and more than 47,000 are still without power, frustrations bubbled. Terry Miles, 59, said his home has not had power since Sunday. He is using a fish fryer for heat, though he worries about the dangers of carbon monoxide.
"I'm taking a chance of killing myself and killing my wife, because — Why?" Miles said after attending a Nashville Electric Service news conference intended to showcase the utility's repairs on poles and lines. He then pointed to officials.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he shared "strong concerns" with the leadership of Nashville Electric Service, adding that residents "need a clear timeline for power restoration, transparency on the number of linemen deployed, and a better understanding of when work will be completed in their neighborhood." The utility has defended its response, saying the storm that struck last weekend was unprecedented.
More snow in the South
Parts of the southern Appalachians, the Carolinas and Georgia could see 6 to 10 inches of snow, Oravec said. The Carolinas could see blizzard conditions overnight stemming from a bomb cyclone, a term Oravec used to describe an intense, rapidly strengthening storm system off the Southeast coast packing strong winds.
"Anytime you have cold weather advisories or extreme cold warnings, it is dangerous to be outside. Frostbite can occur," Oravec said. "Especially in areas that have or are experiencing power issues still, prolonged exposure to cold weather is not good for yourself."
In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — whose official seal is the sun, palm trees and a seagull — 6 inches of snow was expected. The city has no snow removal equipment, and authorities planned to "use what we can find," Mayor Mark Kruea said.
Subfreezing weather was forecast into February, with heavy snow in the Carolinas, Virginia and northeast Georgia over the weekend, including up to a foot in parts of North Carolina. Snow was also said to be possible from Maryland to Maine.
Grappling with freezing temperatures
Seventy-eight people have died from Texas to New Jersey, according to data collected by CBS News. Causes of death included hypothermia or exposure, carbon monoxide poisoning, and accidents like sledding crashes. Officials have not released specific details about some deaths.
Experts warned of the growing risks of hypothermia. Frostbite was also a concern in the South, where some people may lack sufficiently warm clothing, said Dr. David Nestler, an emergency medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Wind chills will plunge well below zero across much of the region, with values near -20 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of the Ohio Valley on Sunday morning.
In North Carolina, hundreds of National Guard soldiers readied to help and state workers worked to prepare roads.
The city of Wake Forest saw a steady stream of people filling propane tanks Friday at Holding Oil and Gas, including José Rosa, who arrived after striking out at three other places.
"I'm here in this cold weather, and I don't like it," Rosa said as he held a 20-pound tank.
In Dare County, home to much of North Carolina's Outer Banks, residents worried that more unoccupied houses in communities like Rodanthe and Buxton could collapse into the Atlantic Ocean.
The frigid cold is expected to plunge as far south as Florida. For parts of Southern Florida, it will be the coldest air seen in decades. Sunday and Monday are likely to set records.