2 weeks of winter storms kill dozens and cause cold chaos in parts of the US, but a thaw is coming
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two weeks of storms that have turned roads into icy death traps, frozen people to death from Oregon to Tennessee and caused power outages that could take weeks to fix continued to sock both coasts with another round of weather chaos on Friday.
The rain, snow, wind and bitterly cold temperatures have been blamed for at least 55 deaths in the U.S. over the past two weeks as a series of storms moved across the country. Schools and roads have closed, and air traffic has been snarled
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There is hope. The forecast for next week calls for above average temperatures across almost the whole country, according to the National Weather Service.
Heavier-than-forecast snow fell in New York City, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., on Friday and Michigan City, Indiana, received 17 inches (43 centimeters) of lake-effect snow. But the biggest problems remained in places hit hard by storms earlier in the week.
On the West Coast, Oregon’s governor declared a statewide emergency Thursday night, nearly a week after the start of a crippling ice storm.
Thousands have been without power since last weekend in parts of Oregon’s Willamette Valley because of the freezing rain.
“We lost power on Saturday, and we were told yesterday that it would be over two weeks before it’s back on,” said Jamie Kenworthy, a real estate broker in Jasper in Lane County.
About 90,000 customers remained without electricity Friday afternoon in the state after back-to-back storms, according to poweroutage.us.
Portland Public Schools canceled classes for the fourth straight day amid concerns about icy roads and water damage to buildings, and state offices in the city were also ordered closed.
Ice was also a problem in the South. Snow and freezing rain added another coat of ice in Tennessee on Thursday. More than 9 inches (22.8 centimeters) of snow has fallen around Nashville since Sunday, nearly twice the yearly average.
Authorities blamed at least 17 deaths in Tennessee on the weather.
