At least 51 people in the US have died following a weeklong Arctic cold that has gripped the nation in terrifyingly low temperatures, according to one report. On Friday, more than 66 million Americans remained under winter weather warnings.
Of the cold-related deaths that have occurred since last Friday: 17 happened in Tennessee, nine in Oregon, six in Illinois, five in Washington state and Mississippi, three in New York, two in Louisiana and one each in Arkansas, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and New Hampshire, according to a report based on information from local and state officials.
Dangerous temperatures are expected to continue, even in regions of the US which are known for their typically warm climates. Temperatures will drop into the low 20s or teens on Friday night and early on Saturday. Some cities in the US states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, can expect to see such temperatures.
In Pennsylvania, five people were hit and killed by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 81 after they left their vehicles following a prior crash on the icy road. And in Kansas on Wednesday, an 18-year-old boy’s body was found in a ditch just under a mile from where his car had become stuck in the snow. Authorities are investigating his death.
Those who died in Tennessee include: a box truck driver who reportedly slid into a tractor-trailer on the interstate, a man who fell through a skylight while trying to clean a roof, and a women who died of hypothermia after being found unresponsive in her home.
Nashville, which rarely sees high accumulations of snow, experienced more than 9 inches of snow since Sunday.
On Friday afternoon, wind chill alerts stretched from Montana to Florida and freeze alerts remained in effect across the South and Gulf Coast. Meanwhile, those living in western New York have been buried under snow for several days, and those in the stretch between Western Virginia and southern New England could get 1 to 5 inches of snow on Friday.
The National Weather Service also warned on Friday of freezing rain and strong winds of up to 40 mph for parts of Oregon. Many schools in the state's city of Portland canceled classes for a third straight day because of icy roads and water damage caused by frozen pipes.
The eastern US will experience low winter temperatures throughout the weekend that should grow warmer by Monday. New York City, for example, will experience a low temperature of 20 degrees on Saturday with a high of 24 degrees, but should see a high of 36 degrees by Monday which will grow to 46 degrees by Thursday. Boston will experience even colder temperatures with high temperatures in the low 20s on Saturday, but will see temperatures of 35 degrees by Thursday.
Temperatures in the Midwest US will not climb higher than the teens on Saturday, but will also warm up by the end of next week.
In Oregon, a teenager is being haled a hero after she rescued a baby from a downed powerline incident. Three people were killed by a collapsed powerline that landed on a car during a winter storm in Portland on Wednesday. A couple had been trying to put their baby into an SUV when a downed powerline fell on top of the vehicle, according to the heroic teenager who witnessed the incident.
The father had grabbed the baby when the powerline first fell and tried to work his way up the icy driveway, but he slipped and his foot touched the live wire. The mother, who was six-months pregnant, tried to reach her baby but she also slipped and was electrocuted. The mother’s 15-year-old brother tried to help as well, and he was also electrocuted and died.
The teenager, somehow, managed to rescue the baby without being electrocuted herself.
"We do have fortunately with us a [child] that is going to be able to thrive and do what they possibly can as they move forward," said Rick Graves, a Portland fire and Rescue spokesman, on Thursday. "And they are here, in part, because of the heroic acts of a member of our community."