Tens of thousands enter 6th day without power as Carolinas and Virginia prep for a winter storm

BELZONI, Miss. (AP) — Tens of thousands of radical entered their sixth time with nary energy Friday arsenic the Carolinas and Virginia were preparing for a important wintertime tempest that could bring much snowfall than immoderate parts of North Carolina person seen successful years.

The National Weather Service said arctic aerial moving into the Southeast volition origin already frigid temperatures to plummet into the teens (minus 10 degrees Celsius) connected Friday nighttime successful cities similar Nashville, Tennessee, wherever galore radical inactive lacked powerfulness astir a week aft a monolithic tempest dumped snowfall and crystal crossed the eastbound U.S.

More than 230,000 homes and businesses were without energy Friday morning, with the immense bulk of those outages successful Mississippi and Tennessee, according to the outage tracking website poweroutage.us.

In Mississippi’s Lafayette County, wherever astir 12,000 radical were inactive without energy mid-day Friday, exigency absorption bureau spokesperson Beau Moore said helium knows not everyone volition get powerfulness backmost earlier the acold hits.

“It’s a contention against clip to get it connected for those we tin get it connected for,” Moore said.

Forecasters accidental the subfreezing upwind volition persist successful the eastbound U.S. into February and there’s precocious accidental of dense snowfall successful the Carolinas, Virginia and northeast Georgia this weekend, perchance up to a ft (30 centimeters) successful parts of North Carolina. Snow is besides imaginable on the East Coast from Maryland to Maine.

On Saturday nighttime and aboriginal Sunday, forecasters expect aggravated winds accompanied by mean to dense snowfall that could pb to blizzard conditions for a clip earlier the tempest starts to determination retired to oversea Sunday morning.

Snow should heap up successful the Carolinas

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a authorities of exigency Thursday successful mentation for forecasts of respective inches of snowfall statewide and perchance 1 ft (30.5 centimeters) successful immoderate locations, peculiarly successful eastbound counties and astatine the coast. The authorities avoided important harm from the caller crystal storm.

Hundreds of authorities National Guard soldiers were acceptable to assistance region stuck vehicles oregon fallen trees from roads. And authorities Transportation Department workers, who person been removing remaining crystal from roads, person already pretreated thoroughfares, bureau Secretary Daniel Johnson said.

Gov. Stein and his squad urged the nationalist to heed warnings astir snowfall accumulations, precocious winds and bitter-cold temperatures.

“If you were disappointed by however fewer snowflakes fell this past weekend, I person immoderate bully quality for you,” Stein said astatine a media briefing Friday. “And if you’re bushed of wintertime weather, immoderate atrocious news: this is going to beryllium with america a small spot longer.”

In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a formation metropolis much accustomed to hurricanes, postulation jams and tourists, the National Weather Service has predicted 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow.

The metropolis has nary snowfall removal equipment. Instead, newly-inaugurated Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark Kruea said they volition “use what we tin find” — possibly a centrifugal grader oregon bulldozer to scrape snowfall disconnected streets.

“With a hurricane you tin tempest impervious galore things," Kruea said Friday. "But astatine a spot similar this, determination is lone a fewer things you tin bash to get acceptable for snow."

Newberry County, South Carolina, Sheriff Lee Foster was preparing for imaginable snowfall successful an country wherever remnants of Hurricane Helene chopped powerfulness to astir of the region of 40,000 radical for much than a week successful 2024. The region besides lacks specialized snowfall tools and volition trust connected 4 x 4 vehicles and instrumentality it tin borrow.

Hypothermia risks grow

With the question of unsafe acold heading for the South, experts accidental the hazard of hypothermia heightens for radical successful parts of Mississippi and Tennessee who are entering their sixth time trapped astatine location without powerfulness successful subfreezing temperatures.

“The assemblage tin grip acold temperatures concisely precise well, but the prolonged vulnerability is simply a problem.” said Dr. Hans House, University of Iowa prof of exigency medicine.

People who are much susceptible — the elderly, infants and those with underlying wellness conditions — whitethorn person started experiencing hypothermia symptoms wrong hours of vulnerability to the frigid temperatures, explained Dr. Zheng Ben Ma, aesculapian manager of the University of Washington Medical Center’s northwest exigency department. That ranges from exhaustion to slurred code and representation loss.

“Once you get into days six, seven, upwards of 10, past adjacent a healthy, resilient idiosyncratic volition beryllium much predisposed to experiencing immoderate of those deleterious effects of the acold temperature,” helium said.

Mississippi and Tennessee inactive seeking afloat power

Mississippi officials accidental it’s the state’s worst wintertime tempest since 1994. About 80 warming centers were opened crossed the state, known arsenic 1 of the nation’s poorest. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said National Guard troops were delivering meals, blankets and different supplies by motortruck and helicopter.

In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee said crews had distributed much than 600 units of warming supplies and much than 2,200 gallons (8,328 liters) of state and diesel.

Nashville residents' criticisms person grown louder implicit the section utility's handling of tempest prep and recovery, arsenic much than 70,000 homes and businesses it serves remained powerless with frigid temperatures expected. Nashville Electric Service has defended its approach, saying it was an unprecedented storm. At the peak, astir fractional of its customers successful and adjacent the superior metropolis mislaid power.

More than 80 radical person died successful areas affected by bitter acold from Texas to New Jersey. Roughly fractional the deaths were reported successful Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. While immoderate deaths person been attributed to hypothermia, others are suspected to beryllium related to c monoxide exposure.

Dr. Abhi Mehrotra, an exigency medicine doc with the University of North Carolina astatine Chapel Hill, said it's important to marque definite vigor sources utilized indoors, including generators, are not emitting c monoxide, which could beryllium deadly.

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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia, and Thanawala from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Jeff Martin successful Atlanta; Jeffrey Collins successful Columbia, South Carolina; Gary Robertson successful Raleigh, North Carolina; Jonathan Mattise and Travis Loller successful Nashville, Tennessee; Sarah Brumfield successful Washington; Devi Shastri successful Milwaukee and Hallie Golden successful Seattle contributed to this report.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.