As snowfall tapers, ‘deep freeze’ sets in as another potential storm on the horizon

By Morgan Sweeney and Ava Ott
The Center Square

Winter Storm Fern has left hundreds of thousands without power and claimed a number of lives across the country, and the cold front is set to linger for days.

Another storm may also be coming this weekend.

As of Monday evening, state emergency management agencies and state officials had publicly confirmed a handful of deaths across several southern states. The Weather Channel reported at least 12 deaths as of midday Monday, but others have since reported more. Some have died from hypothermia, and some have died from carbon monoxide exposure, which can occur with the use of unvented space heaters or portable generators.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger cautioned residents to use such items properly during the storm.

“Amid this winter storm, we’re seeing a rise in emergency room visits for hypothermia and carbon monoxide exposure,” she wrote in a post to social media. “If you’re using a generator to stay warm, please make sure it’s outside and a safe distance from your home.”

Most of the remaining power outages are in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, with over 200,000 without power in Tennessee alone, according to national outage aggregator poweroutage.us.

The storm “dumped over six inches of snow across 26 states from New Mexico to New England and into eastern Canada,” according to The Weather Channel. Snowfall reached eight to 12 inches across parts of Kentucky, Ohio and the Mid-Atlantic, with totals of 18 to 30 inches in portions of Pennsylvania and New York. Sleet and freezing rain caused dangerous ice accumulation in many states.

Even though the major precipitation has passed in most states or will be by Tuesday morning, many states are encouraging residents to remain vigilant throughout the rest of the week, as temperatures are expected to remain lower than normal and even reach record lows.

“The upper-level pattern will continue to favor arctic air intrusions into the eastern two-thirds of the country. In addition, the cooling tendency associated with the unusually expansive snowfall and ice already on the ground from the most recent winter storm will tend to sustain the deep freeze currently engulfing the eastern two-thirds of the country,” according to the National Weather Service.

Officials are also encouraging people to check on their loved ones, especially the elderly, in the days ahead.

The president has approved emergency declarations for 12 states, authorizing immediate federal assistance to Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

However, in alignment with the administration’s efforts to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency into a “lean, deployable disaster force,” governors continue to remind state residents and organizations that management and recovery efforts must be “state managed” and “locally executed” while receiving support from the federal government. Many states have deployed National Guardsmen to help local agencies respond to the storm.

The National Weather Service warned of another possible storm on Monday, which could form over the weekend.