Nearly every state to be impacted by a 'once in a generation' winter ...

CNN —

A major winter storm and cold blast will impact nearly every state and bring what the National Weather Service is calling a “once in a generation type event” that will cripple travel on some of the busiest travel days of the year.

The strengthening storm will bring more than a foot of snow and possible blizzard conditions to the Midwest, as the weather service warns of “life-threatening” wind chills for millions.

More than 90 million people are under winter weather alerts and more than 87 million are under wind chill alerts. The alerts stretch across 37 states, dipping as far south as the Texas/Mexico border.

The number of people under winter alerts and wind chill alerts has grown to over 100 million people, or roughly a third of the US population, according to the National Weather Service.

The cold will stick around for Christmas weekend, making this the coldest Christmas in roughly 40 years for portions of the Plains and Midwest.

LIVE UPDATES ON THE WINTER STORM FOR THURSDAY

Storm timeline:

Wednesday: The storm will strengthen over the Northern Plains through the day as heavy snow falls across much of the Rockies, the Northern Plains and into the Midwest. Slick roads will lead to travel headaches and airport delays through places like Minneapolis, Omaha and Rapid City.

This system will bring 5 to 9 inches of light fluffy snow across the region, with “the highest amounts just north and west of the Twin Cities,” said the weather service office in Twin Cities. While snow will steadily fall across the region, the high winds won’t kick in until Thursday.

Denver will go from a high of 47 on Wednesday to a low of minus 14 on Thursday morning. That would be the city’s coldest day in 32 years, according to the weather service.

Temperatures in the Denver metro area will drop drastically once the front passes in the next couple of hours.

By sunrise, the temperature is expected to be around 10 degrees below zero and gusty north winds will create a wind chill of around minus 25. The high-temperature tomorrow will likely not make it above zero degrees.

A wind chill warning is in effect as well as a winter weather advisory. Several inches of snow will also make for difficult travel late this afternoon through early Thursday.

Thursday: Thursday will be the most difficult day for travel. The storm will be hitting the Midwest extremely hard with heavy snow and strong winds. Western Minnesota will face not only blizzard conditions, but potentially deadly wind chills Thursday and Friday.

“Whiteout conditions are expected during that time with travel becoming very difficult or impossible,” said the weather service. “This event could be life-threatening if you are stranded with wind chills in the 30 below to 45 below zero range.”

Chicago could also face blizzard conditions with winds gusting as high as 50 mph, with 2 to 4 inches of snow forecast.

“Overall, concern continues to increase in the quick development of dangerous conditions Thursday afternoon with potentially significant impacts to the evening peak travel window,” warned the weather service office in Chicago.

Snowfall early Wednesday in Glasgow, Montana. Angel Enriquez

Additionally, strong winds may knock out power lines in the Midwest, especially in areas where heavy snow fell last week and is already weighing down tree branches. This will leave millions finding a way to stay warm as temperatures plummet to well below freezing.

Snow could fall as far south as Jackson, Mississippi, Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee and even Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday. Little to no accumulation is expected for most of the southern cities, however, Nashville could pick up about an inch of snow.

In anticipation of what will be a week of travel nightmares, United, American, Delta, Southwest and Jet Blue have issued travel waivers for dozens of airports across the country from the South to the Northeast, because in addition to snow covering roadways, low visibility could make air travel dangerous.

At least 1,000 flights had been canceled across the US, according to the flight tracking site Flightaware on Wednesday evening.

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport leads the way, followed by Denver International and Chicago’s Midway International.

Cancellations at those airports could have a wider impact because they are busy hubs where travelers often change planes in order to reach other destinations. Thursday is expected to be the busiest pre-Christmas day for travel.

Friday: The storm is expected to become a “bomb cyclone” Thursday evening into Friday. A bomb cyclone is when a storm rapidly intensifies – and drops 24 millibars (a term used to measure atmospheric pressure) in 24 hours.

The storm is expected to reach the pressure equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane as it reaches the Great Lakes, with the weather service describing the strength of the low a “once-in-a-generation” event.

“This is a case in which snow totals may not tell the whole story. Even small snow amounts, when combined with very strong wind gusts and plummeting temperatures, can cause poor visibility and slick spots on roads. The sudden arrival of these conditions can increase the danger,” the weather service explained.

The storm will be over the Great Lakes on Friday and continuing to produce heavy snow across much of the Midwest. Portions of Michigan could pick up more than a foot of snow by Friday, making travel impossible at times.

Blizzard warnings are in effect for parts of the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan – where travel conditions will become difficult to impossible as the storm peaks Thursday into Friday. Major cities like Chicago, Kansas City, St Louis, Twin Cities and Detroit are under winter storm warnings for heavy snow and near blizzard conditions.

Heavy rain will also blanket much of the I-95 corridor, adding to the travel troubles and lengthy airport delays.

Even in places where the snow has ended, strong winds will continue to blow 30 to 40 mph across much of the Midwest and into the Northeast.

Friday night into Saturday morning, New England will get a quick shot of snow and windy conditions.

Travelers check in at Minneapolis' St. Paul Airport, Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Abbie Parr/AP

Life-threatening cold

Places that will escape the snow, won’t escape the cold. Areas from eastern Montana through the Dakotas will experience the coldest air beginning Thursday morning. Temperatures will be running 40 degrees below normal for these places. The combination of cold temperatures and windy conditions will send wind chills as low as 50 degrees below zero.

Rapid City will feel like 45 degrees below zero on Thursday morning. By Friday morning, Chicago’s wind chill will bottom out at 30 degrees below zero.

“The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 5 minutes,” warned the weather service office in Bismarck.

Even the South will be dangerously cold. Nashville and Atlanta’s wind chill will drop to minus 11 on Saturday morning and Birmingham will feel like minus 5.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday declared a state of emergency due to the upcoming “historic low temperatures” across the state, with near zero or negative digit wind chills by midday on Friday.

Greg Behrens, of Des Moines, Iowa, tries to stay warm as he makes his way on a snow-covered sidewalk, Wednesday, December 21, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP

The declaration will help “ensure that essential supplies, especially propane can be delivered for both commercial and residential needs,” the governor told reporters.

“Communities across the state are about to see temperatures that they haven’t experienced in a decade or more,” Kemp said.

The state will be pretreating roads and bridges in anticipation of the inclement weather and officials urged residents to avoid travel if possible.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also declared a state of emergency, with wind gusts expected to reach 40 to 50 mph on Friday and minus 10 to minus 26 degrees wind chills expected on Saturday. Beshear asked residents to stay off roads and to have a backup heat source.

Jackson and Birmingham will both spend more than 80 hours below freezing between Friday and Monday. Houston could sit below freezing for 46 hours between Thursday and Saturday.

The cold temperatures will stay through Christmas weekend, before finally moderating next week.

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Ian could become 'major' hurricane, targets Florida. What we know

Tropical Storm Ian strengthened into a hurricane Monday while racing across the Caribbean toward Cuba and threatening a big hit to Florida's west coast later in the week.

At 5 a.m. EDT on Monday, Ian was moving northwest at 13 mph, about 90 miles southwest of Grand Cayman, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.

Ian was forecast to intensify rapidly and become a major hurricane as soon as late Monday.

As Ian approaches Florida, Accuweather said the storm could reach Category 4 status, which means sustained winds between 130 mph and 156 mph.

"In just a few days, Ian is likely to be a dangerous, major hurricane," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents to load up on food, water, medicine, batteries and fuel. He said it was too soon to determine when or even if Ian will make landfall, but that evacuations may be ordered in coming days.

"Expect heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge and even isolated tornadoes. Make preparations now," he said Sunday. "Anticipate power outages. That is something that is likely to happen with a hurricane of this magnitude."

The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch for the lower Florida Keys Sunday.

"Significant" wind and storm surge damage was expected across a wide swath of the Atlantic Basin, and the Cuban government upgraded the hurricane watch to warning.

Such storms can cause "catastrophic" damage, with power outages that can last weeks or possibly months, according to the National Weather Service description. Areas can be uninhabitable for weeks or months, the weather service says.

“Even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state," DeSantis said.

IAN COULD BE MAJOR HURRICANE SOON:Statewide emergency in Florida declared

Storm could drive heavy rains all week

Heavy rainfall may affect north Florida, the Florida panhandle and the southeast United States through Saturday, the weather service update said. Flooding and rising area streams and rivers across the region "can't be ruled out" later this week, especially in central Florida due to already saturated conditions, the updated warned.

Still no water or electricity:Voices from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona

East coast of Florida not in the clear

Though the track had shifted westward, parts of the state's east coast remained solidly within the edges of Ian's forecast cone Sunday. Melbourne resident Pat Alderman wasn't taking any changes, buying ten 50-pound bags of sand, along with 50 empty sandbags, at Lowe's in West Melbourne to fortify her back patio door against floodwaters. She has a backyard pond, and her soils are saturated with recent rainfall.

Alderman, shopping at Lowe's on Sunday, said she had a generator and roll-down shutters – no need to board her windows.

"This is from decades of living in Florida," she said. 'If you've lived here for a while, you need to have all these things. Transplants don't understand."

In Tampa, stocking up on water and sandbags

John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at hurricane center, said Floridians should begin preparations, including gathering supplies for potential power outages, he said.

"For those in Florida, it’s still time to prepare," he said. "I’m not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that, but it’s still time to get your supplies."

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said city sandbag sites were open. She urged residents to shop for several days of necessities now and to check family disaster kits and plans.

"Are you #TampaReady?" she tweeted. "It’s never too early to prepare."

Residents agreed. Shoppers at a Walmart Supercenter Tampa were stocking up on supplies – and wiped out almost 1,000 cases of bottled water in a few hours Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

NASA postpones launch, considers stashing rocket

NASA said Sunday that it was monitoring Tropical Storm Ian, but had not determined whether it would roll back the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to the protection of the assembly building. The agency said it would "prioritize the agency’s people and hardware." NASA managers, who canceled a launch set for Tuesday due to the storm, planned to meet Sunday night to evaluate whether to keep the vehicle at the launch pad to preserve an opportunity for a launch attempt on Oct. 2.

The latest information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Space Force, and the National Hurricane Center indicated a "slower moving and potentially more westerly track of the storm than yesterday’s predictions showed, providing more time for the agency’s decision making process," NASA said in a statement.

Bethune-Cookman University orders evacuation

Bethune-Cookman University canceled classes Monday and said they would reconvene remotely on Tuesday.

"As a precaution, and in the interest of safety for members of our campus community, the university has issued a mandatory campus evacuation," the school said in a statement on its website. The school, a private, historically black university in Daytona Beach, has about 2,750 undergraduate students.

The school told its students that their smartphones are “computers” and that they should continue to use their cellphones to keep up with their studies in the event they do not have access to a tablet, laptop or desktop technology.

Florida's west coast could take rare hurricane hit

AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that the storm could slam the west coast of Florida – an often-missed target. The U.S. database shows that about 160 hurricanes, excluding tropical storms, have affected Florida. Only 17 have made landfall on the west coast north of the Florida Keys.

Most storms typically travel northeast or northwest, not up the coast, AccuWeather senior weather editor Jesse Ferrell said. There is no record of a hurricane ever having tracked entirely up the west coast of Florida since records began in 1944. But Ian appears likely to take a "very unusual track," he said.

Florida has had recent storms that were hurricanes, but were downgraded to tropical storms before landfall, Ferrell said. Elsa in 2021 made landfall west of Tampa, and Eta in 2020 made landfall north of Tampa in Cedar Key. Neither had the firepower close to a Category 3 storm, however.

DeSantis declares statewide state of emergency

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a pre-landfall state of emergency for all 67 counties late Saturday. The declaration came a day after DeSantis' 24-county declaration.Florida National Guard members will be activated and on standby.

"Floridians should remain vigilant and ensure their households are prepared for a potential impact," DeSantis said.

Ian will then either move inland somewhere over the southeast U.S., or could track near or along parts of the Eastern Seaboard late this week, The Weather Channel said, adding that it's too soon to tell where Ian will end up, but there could be wind, flooding rain and other impacts extending into other parts of the East late next week.

Biden authorizes FEMA to help

President Joe Biden also declared an emergency for the state, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance to protect lives and property.

Biden postponed a scheduled Sept. 27 trip to Florida due to the storm.

Caymans, Cuba to see Ian's fury first

But Ian will do damage even before reaching Cuba. Hurricane conditions are expected to reach Grand Cayman by early Monday, with tropical storm conditions expected by Sunday night, the weather service said.

Significant wind and storm surges in western Cuba are expected as the storm strengthens Sunday night, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane conditions are possible within the hurricane watch area in Cuba by Monday night or early Tuesday, with tropical storm conditions possible by late Monday. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the tropical storm watch area in Cuba Monday night and Tuesday.

Contributing: Rick Neale, Florida Today; The Associated Press

Jackson, Mississippi, water: The water crisis has gotten so bad, the ...

CNN —

Recent torrential rain coupled with years of water system issues have resulted in a crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, where the city doesn’t have enough water to fight fires, flush toilets or even hand out to residents in need.

Jackson’s main water treatment facility began failing Monday, according to Gov. Tate Reeves. The National Guard was called up to help distribute bottled water as crews work to get the water treatment plant back online, state officials said.

But the distribution itself proved unsustainable. Residents of all ages were seen waiting in lines more than a mile long at Hawkins Field Airport for at least two hours Tuesday for just one case of bottled water. The event was supposed to span three hours, but barely ran two as people were eventually turned away when the 700 cases of water ran out.

“I keep saying we’re going to be the next Michigan,” said Jeraldine Watts, 86, who was able to get water at a grocery store Monday night. “And it looks like that’s exactly what we’re headed for.”

Watts was referring to the water crisis in the city of Flint, which has battled water issues since a 2014 water crisis in which lead-contaminated water fed to residents’ faucets.

People line up for water in Jackson, Mississippi, on August 30, 2022. CNN

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told CNN’s Pamela Brown the city is working on more water distribution events. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency will provide nearly 30 water trucks to help supplement the city events, the mayor said.

“I have been assured by MEMA that they will supplement those locations with about 28 tanker trucks distributed at various points across the city,” Lumumba told CNN.

Explanations for Jackson’s failing system are complicated: Damage this summer to pumps at the main water treatment facility made failure increasingly likely as the summer progressed, the governor said; and flooding of the Pearl River after heavy rains last week affected treatment processes and therefore the amount of running water the system can provide, Lumumba said.

This week’s troubles come as the water system has been plagued with problems for years and with the city already under a boil water notice since late July for what the state called a water-quality issue.

The state is “surging our resources to the city’s water treatment facility and beginning emergency maintenance, repairs and improvements,” Gov. Reeves said. “We will do everything in our power to restore water pressure and get water flowing back to the people of Jackson.”

Water for those in the state’s most populous city would have to be provided “for an unknown period of time,” Reeves said.

The water shortage is expected to last “the next couple of days,” according to the mayor’s office.

Lumumba also announced Monday the city’s public works director – a role that oversees the water treatment facilities – has been reassigned. Marlin King will instead serve as deputy director and Jordan Hillman, the city’s planning and development director, will be the interim public works director, according to Melissa Payne, the mayor’s spokesperson.

King did not respond to CNN requests for comment. Payne said King’s reassignment “is part of restructuring” and is not a result of the current water crisis.

Residents say faucet water is discolored

State Rep. Ronnie Crudup Jr. said he didn’t have running water Monday, but on Tuesday, discolored water came out of his faucet that he used to flush the toilet. He and his family used bottled water Tuesday morning to brush their teeth, Crudup told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota.

Crudup said that although the city has experienced water issues in the past, rain played a part in the current water emergency.

“It’s been building up for years, but we have had an unprecedented amount of rain in the last two to three weeks, and it just kind of created this havoc, what we are dealing with right now,” he said.

Jackson resident Daryl Page told CNN he’s been searching for clean, bottled water since the city’s been under a boil water notice “for a whole month.” He was driving to a distribution site, but as he arrived, he noticed there was nothing there.

Firefighters and recruits for the Jackson Fire Department carry cases of bottled water to residents vehicles, August 18, 2022, as part of the city's response to longstanding water system problems. Rogelio V. Solis/AP

“Everyone is turning around because there is nothing here,” Page said, adding that his next plan of action was to drive to another site in hopes that he could find cases of water there.

Because of Monday’s failure, officials announced all Jackson public schools will shift to virtual learning Tuesday.

Hospitals are also feeling the strain. Jackson’s University of Mississippi Medical Center released a statement Tuesday saying the Jackson Medical Mall air conditioning is not functioning properly “because the water pressure feeding its chillers is too low.” Portable restrooms are being used in locations experiencing low water pressure, the statement said.

The university medical center statement also said a fire watch was declared for its Jackson-based facilities, “because fire suppression systems are fed by the city water system. Low pressure in the systems may cause them to be less effective.”

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the water crisis in Jackson and the White House has been “in regular contact with state and local officials, including Mayor Lumumba, and made clear that the Federal Government stands ready to offer assistance,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday afternoon.

“(The Federal Emergency Management Agency) is working closely with the state officials to identify needs, and the EPA is coordinating with industry partners to expedite delivery of critical treatment equipment for emergency repairs at the City of Jackson water treatment facilities,” she said.

In an emailed statement Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency said “ensuring all people have access to healthy and safe water is a top priority.”

“We are in communication with officials in Mississippi and stand ready to provide support should the State request federal assistance,” the EPA statement read. “In the interim, we are available to provide technical support and information to Mississippi officials as they navigate their plan to address the immediate concerns at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant.”

Later Tuesday, the governor said FEMA has received the state’s declaration asking the federal government to declare the water shortage a federal emergency.

Water system issues go back decades, mayor says

The problem this week stems from one of two water treatment facilities in the city: the O.B. Curtis plant, which is run by the city of Jackson, according to the governor.

The main pumps at O.B. Curtis were severely damaged recently, and the facility began operating on smaller backup pumps about a month ago, around the time the latest boil water notice began in July, the governor said, without elaborating about the damage.

The governor said he was told Friday that “it was a near-certainty that Jackson would fail to produce running water sometime in the next several weeks or months if something did not materially improve,” the governor said.

The O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant in Jackson, Mississippi, seen on March 24, 2022. Mark Felix/AFP/Getty Images

But Lumumba said during a Monday news conference that it was only a matter time before the water system failed because Jackson’s water system has been faced serious issues for years.

“I have said on multiple occasions that it’s not a matter of ‘if’ our system would fail, but a matter of ‘when’ our system would fail,” the mayor said, adding that the city has been “going at it alone for the better part of two years” when it comes to the water crisis.

In early 2020, the water system failed an Environmental Protection Agency inspection. The agency wrote the drinking water had the potential to be host to harmful bacteria or parasites, based on observations of the water’s turbidity, or cloudiness, as well as “disinfection treatment concerns, and/or the condition of the distribution system.”

In March 2020, the EPA issued an order requiring the city to develop a plan to replace and repair monitoring and treatment equipment, to “address dosing processes for disinfection and pH control” and to take more coliform bacteria samples, among other things.

The city also has endured weather-related shutdowns.

In February 2021, a winter storm shut down Jackson’s entire water system, leaving tens of thousands of residents without water for a month amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Residents have been under some sort of boil water notice or advisory several times since that storm, including the state-ordered notice posted in July.

“We were here two Februarys ago when we had system failures, and the world was watching us and the world is watching us again,” Lumumba said during Monday’s news conference.

The mayor also pointed to recent flooding from the Pearl River as an event that triggered the latest water pressure issues.

Because O.B. Curtis received additional water from the reservoir during the flooding from last week to this week, the facility had to change the way it treats the water, which has led to the reduction of water being put out into the system and reduced tank levels. This is affecting the water pressure at residents’ homes, he said.

“As one crisis may be diverted, another one rears its head,” Lumumba said Monday during a news conference after addressing the flooding in the city.

O.B. Curtis is meant to provide about 50 million gallons for the city daily. The other plant, which usually provides about 20 million gallons daily, has been approved to ramp up its output amid the shortage, authorities said.

In July 2021, the EPA and the city entered into an agreement to address “long-term challenges and make needed improvements to the drinking water system.” The EPA recently announced $74.9 million in federal water and sewer infrastructure funds for Mississippi, mentioning Jackson without naming specific projects.

However, Lumumba has said it would take $2 billion to fully repair and replace the dated system, which city, state and federal officials say also has too much lead in its water in some places.

Lumumba declared a water system emergency Monday. The proclamation noted not only the flooding but also numerous previous “unsuccessful attempts to rectify water system issues.”

Video Ad Feedback CNN meteorologist explains cause of water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi 02:27 - Source: CNN

As for restoring water pressure and flow and performing emergency maintenance and repairs, the state would split the cost with the city, Reeves said Tuesday.

“We will cash flow the operation, and the city will be responsible for half the cost of the emergency improvements that we make,” the governor said in a statement released on Twitter.

At a Tuesday news conference at the plant, Reeves said he is “encouraged” and at the same time “discouraged” by some of the news coming out of the facility.

“We do have a plan in place to potentially bring in an additional rented pump that will allow us to put at least 4 million gallons of water additionally, hopefully, which will be installed by tomorrow morning. That is progress and will help,” he said.

Reeves added there is no time frame as of now for safe drinking water, but that over the next 24 to 36 hours residents will see significant truckloads of clean water start to be delivered to Jackson.

Over the next few days, more than 108 semi-trucks of water are coming into Jackson and seven mega distribution sites will have 36 truckloads of water a day for the public to be able to retrieve, according to Lt. Col. Stephen McCraney, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency director.

Systemic issues also contributed to water crisis

Lumumba previously told CNN a lack of political will and years of neglect on a national level has prevented Jackson from getting the help it needs to fix its water and sewer crisis. Besides the infrastructure issues, the plant has also been faced with staffing issues, according to the mayor and governor.

“A far too small number of heroic frontline workers were trying their hardest to hold the system together, but that it was a near impossibility,” the governor said Monday.

Jackson’s ongoing water system problems already had some residents reporting low to no water pressure and raw sewage flowing in city streets and neighborhoods before this month.

Now, some residents are taking to Twitter – where #jxnwatercrisis and #jacksonwatercrisis were trending – to post pictures of buckets and even tubs full of brown water coming out of their drains.

Some on social media also pointed to systemic and environmental racism as among the causes of the city’s ongoing water issues and lack of resources, given that 82.5% of Jackson’s population identifies as Black or African American, according to census data, while the state’s legislature is majority White.

NAACP president Derrick Johnson called out the Mississippi governor on Twitter Tuesday.

”.@tatereeves, what are you waiting for!? We demand on behalf of the Jackson communities that you request federal aid from @FEMA and other agencies to ensure people have access to a basic human right: WATER,” Johnson’s tweet read. “Make the damn call. This is personal.”

Jackson has undergone drastic changes in the past half century. Its economic decline has occurred rapidly over the past two decades, fueled by population decline and demographic shifts.

The city’s population shrank from almost 200,000 in 1990 to about 160,000 in 2020. Its decline in population in these three decades was driven almost entirely by White flight. The city was 56% Black in 1990. By 2020, 82% of the city’s residents were Black.

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Prolonged winter storm causes at least 37 deaths and leaves ...

CNN —

The prolonged winter storm that brought heavy snow, high winds and brutal cold to most of the US this past week has killed at least 37 people and had hundreds of thousands without power on Christmas morning.

Perhaps the worst impact was around Buffalo, New York, where 43 inches of snow fell as of Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The snowfall and blizzard conditions made roads impassable, froze power substations and left more than a dozen people dead, Erie County officials said.

The conditions eased slightly on Sunday, allowing emergency responders to get out and see the extent of the problem.

“I don’t want to say that this is going to be it because that would be a fallacy for me to say that, because we know that there are people who have been stuck in cars for more than two days,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Sunday. “There are people in homes who are below freezing temperatures.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called it the “most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long storied history” due to its power and its extended length.

“It’s a crisis of epic proportion,” Hochul told CNN’s Paula Reid on Sunday.

Over the past week, this winter storm brought dangerously cold temperatures, blizzard conditions and coastal flooding to almost the entirety of the US, wrecking Christmas plans along the way.

More than 55 million people were under wind chill alerts Sunday morning, and freeze warnings are in effect across the South.

The blizzard conditions persisted Sunday across the Great Lakes, while frigid cold temperatures gripped the eastern two-thirds of the country.

Some major cities in the Southeast, Midwest and East Coast recorded their coldest Christmas in decades. In Florida, it will be the coldest December 25 since 1983 for Miami, Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach.

New York City also saw record cold temperatures on Christmas Eve at several locations, including its JFK and LaGuardia airports. The high at Central Park was 15 degrees, marking it the second-coldest December 24 in at least 150 years, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures are forecast to rebound later in the week with a much-welcomed warming trend with above-normal temperatures.

About 250,000 homes and businesses in the US had no electricity service as of about 11 a.m. ET Sunday, with nearly half of those affected in Maine and New York, according to PowerOutage.us. Since the start of the storm the number of outages has at times exceeded a million customers.

Power grid struggling with cold

Snow blankets buildings in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday, December 28. Joed Viera/AFP/Getty Images National Guard troops check on Buffalo residents on December 28. Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP A traveler searches for luggage December 28 at a Southwest Airlines baggage holding area in Denver International Airport. More than 90% of Wednesday's US flight cancellations were Southwest flights, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Southwest canceled more than 2,500 flights. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images People help push a car out of snow in Buffalo on Tuesday, December 27. John Normile/Getty Images Niagara Falls in New York is partially frozen on December 27. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Travelers at Baltimore/Washington International Airport deal with the impact of canceled flights on December 27. Michael McCoy/Reuters A gas station canopy lays on its side after high winds and heavy snow in Lackawanna, New York, on December 27. The historic winter storm dumped up to 4 feet of snow on the area. John Normile/Getty Images Hundreds of unclaimed suitcases sit near the Southwest Airlines baggage claim area in Tennessee's Nashville International Airport after the airline canceled thousands of flights on December 27. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images A street is blanketed by snow in downtown Buffalo on Monday, December 26. Gov. Kathy Hochul/Twitter/AP A person clears a snow-covered driveway in Buffalo on December 26. Faith Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A man and a boy walk across the frozen Reflecting Pool towards the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on December 26. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Firefighters carry rescue equipment as they respond to a fire on a snow-covered street in Buffalo on Sunday, December 25. Jalen Wright/The New York Times/Redux Snow blankets a neighborhood in Cheektowaga, New York, on Christmas Day. Western New York is drowning in thick "lake effect" snow -- which forms when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Great Lakes -- just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm. John Waller via AP A man tries to dig out his car after he got stuck in a snowdrift about a block from home in Buffalo on Saturday, December 24. Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP Icicles created by a sprinkler hang from an orange tree in Clermont, Florida, on December 24. Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A young holiday traveler passes the time at Detroit Wayne County Metro Airport on December 24. Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images Pedestrians deal with the cold in Chicago on December 24. Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP Hoak's Restaurant in Hamburg, New York, is seen covered in ice from the spray of Lake Erie on December 24. Kevin Hoak via Reuters Nissan Stadium employees clear the field in Nashville before the an NFL football game on December 24. Mark Zaleski/AP Amanda Kelly cleans off snow and ice from her car in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, December 23. Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch/USA Today Network Cars drive in whiteout conditions in Orchard Park, New York, on December 23. Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News/AP Travelers sleep while lines of people pass through a security checkpoint at Denver International Airport. David Zalubowski/AP Snow-covered buildings are seen in Louisville, Kentucky. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images The waters of Lake Erie wash over the shoreline in Hamburg, New York, on December 23. John Normile/Getty Images Snow collects on a bison at the Longfield Farm in Goshen, Kentucky, on December 23. Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal/USA Today Network Volunteers welcome a homeless person to a shelter at Louisville's Broadbent Arena on December 23. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images Stones are removed from a road in Westport, Massachusetts, after a storm surge made landfall, flooding many coastal areas on December 23. Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times/AP The Louisville skyline is obscured by steam rising from the Ohio River on December 23. Matt Stone/The Louisville Courier/USA Today Network Antonio Smothers jump-starts his vehicle in Nashville on December 23. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images Rows of headstones at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery are blanketed by drifting snow in Mandan on Thursday, December 22. Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune/AP Migrants warm themselves by a fire next to the US-Mexico border fence on December 22 in El Paso, Texas. John Moore/Getty Images Robert Arnold puts chains onto the tires of his semitrailer while he waits for the eastbound lane of I-70 to reopen in Silverthorne, Colorado, on December 22. Jason Connolly/AFP/Getty Images A musician departs following a show on Broadway in Nashville on December 22. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images Brady Myers helps turn the Stewpot Community Services day shelter for the unhoused into an emergency overnight shelter in Jackson, Mississippi, on December 22. Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger/USA Today Network Vehicles travel along Interstate 44 on December 22, in St. Louis. Jeff Roberson/AP A person walks through the snow on December 22 in downtown Minneapolis. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/AP A clean car passes a snow-covered car in Des Moines, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP Travelers walk in front of flight information screens at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on December 22. Nam Y. Huh/AP Ice collects on a window in Oklahoma City on December 22. Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman/USA Today Network Bus riders wait at a sheltered stop in Chicago on December 22. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP An accident involving a semi-tractor-trailer blocks the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 in West Des Moines on December 22. Bryon Houlgrave/The Des Moines Register/AP Kids shovel snow off a sidewalk and driveway in Minneapolis on December 22. Abbie Parr/AP Travelers arrive for their flights at O'Hare International Airport on December 22 in Chicago. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images Mist rises above ice flows on the Yellowstone River on December 22 in Paradise Valley, Montana. William Campbell/Getty Images Students walk to school buses after early dismissal at a middle school in Wheeling, Illinois, on December 22. Nam Y. Huh/AP Miguel Salazar clears sidewalks in Denver on December 22. Hyoung Chang/Denver Post/Getty Images Travelers arrive at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on December 21. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/AP Salt is prepared to be loaded onto a truck at the Department of Public Works sanitation yard in Milwaukee on December 21. Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/AP Propane heaters sit next to pens at the City of Mission Animal Shelter in Mission, Texas, on December 21. Joel Martinez/The Monitor/AP Crews de-ice a Southwest Airlines plane before takeoff in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 21. Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald/AP An Iowa Department of Transportation plow clears a road in Iowa City on December 21. Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press Citizen/AP Snow covers homes in Seattle on December 20. Daniel Kim/The Seattle Times/AP In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US Prev Next

A power grid operator for at least 13 states in the country’s eastern half asked customers to conserve power and set thermostats lower than usual from early Saturday to 10 a.m. on Sunday because usage was straining capacity.

The operator, PJM Interconnection, serves about 65 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The operator warned rolling blackouts could happen if the strain becomes too much.

In New York, utility companies Con Edison and Natural Grid US also urged customers to conserve energy, citing extreme weather conditions and increased energy demand on interstate pipelines carrying natural gas into the city.

Meanwhile, a shortage of electricity in Texas prompted the US Department of Energy to declare an emergency Friday, allowing the state’s energy provider to exceed environmental emissions standards until energy usage drops.

In Jackson, Mississippi, frigid temperatures are hampering efforts to repair a large water main break late Saturday, which has caused a loss in water pressure for residents, city officials said.

“We are grateful to the crews who are braving these frigid temperatures on this Christmas Eve night, while working to restore pressure to residents. Their sacrifice does not go unnoticed and is appreciated not only by this administration, but also by every resident who is affected,” the release stated.

The brutal weather conditions have also snarled travel during the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled Saturday, and more than 2,800 canceled for Christmas Day.

Dangerous weather conditions claim lives

Snow covers a vehicle on December 24, 2022, in Hamburg, New York. John Normile/Getty Images

Out of the 17 weather-related fatalities recorded across New York, 16 were in Erie County, officials said, and one was a fatal carbon monoxide poisoning reported in Niagara County, according to the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office.

Blistering blizzard conditions swept the region, and Poloncarz, the county executive, said about 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles Friday night into Saturday morning, despite a county driving ban put in place during the storm.

National Guard troops had been called in to help “rescue people that are stuck in vehicles,” he said.

Of the deaths reported early Sunday – with individuals ranging in age from 26 to 93 years of age – “some were found in cars and some were found actually on the street in snow banks,” Poloncarz said.

Two died in separate incidents Friday night when emergency medical personnel could not get to their homes in time for medical emergencies, Poloncarz said Saturday morning. Details about a third death, confirmed by a county spokesperson Saturday afternoon, weren’t immediately available.

“The loss of two lives in Buffalo – storm related – because people were not able to get to medical attention, is again a crisis situation that unfolds before your eyes and you realize that lifesaving ambulances and emergency medical personnel cannot get to people during a blizzard situation,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday.

Hochul said she will ask the federal government “for a declaration of emergency that’ll allow us to seek reimbursements for the extraordinary expenses of all the overtime and the fact that we brought in mutual aid from other parts of the state.”

Video Ad Feedback Powerful winter storm leaves first responders in need of rescue, official says 01:49 - Source: CNN

Other storm-related deaths have been reported in the country. They include:

• Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer of a building possibly looking for warmth, and another in a camp in an alleyway.

• Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Kansas Highway Patrol said Friday.

• Kentucky: Three people have died in the state, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle crash in Montgomery County.

• Missouri: One person died after a caravan slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said.

• Ohio: Nine people have died as a result of weather-related auto crashes, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75, when a semi tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.

• Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.

• Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

What to expect as the storm slowly weakens and hazardous conditions continue

Strong winds behind the arctic cold front that pushed through this week will lead to lake-effect snow and blizzard conditions at times across portions of the Great Lakes on Sunday.

Blizzard warnings, winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories blanket much of the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley.

An additional 8 to 16 inches of lake-effect snow is possible.

The storm system is forecast to gradually weaken as it lifts into southeastern Canada, moving slowly during the next couple of days and pulling arctic air from Canada down into much of the eastern side of the country.

The Arctic blast will slowly moderate into Monday.

The cold temperatures combined with dangerous wind chills will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers who become stranded, people who work outside, livestock and pets, according to the National Weather Service.

“In some areas, being outdoors could lead to frostbite in minutes,” the Weather Service warned.

As the frigid air continues to blast the warm waters of the Great Lakes, lake-effect snows and blizzard conditions are expected to continue, but slowly become less intense.

Still, strong gusty winds initially up to 60 mph accompanying the snow downwind from the Great Lakes will continue to make for extremely dangerous conditions on the road.

By Christmas night into Monday, another low pressure system coming from the Pacific will deliver the next surge of moisture toward the Pacific Northwest and then into northern California, according to the Weather Service.

Argentina wins World Cup, holiday snowstorm, El Paso migrants, P ...

Editors

USA TODAY

Lionel Messi, Argentina win unbelievable World Cup final vs. France

Argentina won the 2022 World Cup on Sunday, defeating France on penalty kicks after finishing tied 3-3 in one of the wildest games in the history of the tournament. It’s Argentina’s third World Cup title and first since 1986, depriving France of back-to-back championships. Lionel Messi, Argentina’s superstar who had won just about everything except for the World Cup in his career, scored two goals in the game and the win solidified his claim as soccer’s greatest of all time. France came back from a 2-0 deficit with 10 minutes left in regulation, then trailed 3-2 in extra time before Kylian Mbappe scored his third goal of the game to force the match into penalties. Mbappe finished as the World Cup’s top scorer with eight goals in seven games, while Messi was named the top player in the tournament.

White Christmas? Major snowstorm may hit swath of US before holiday

A major snowstorm may be brewing over the central and eastern U.S. in the days before Christmas with the potential to complicate holiday travel. The likelihood of a "potential blockbuster system" evolving before Christmas is increasing, AccuWeather forecasters said, although high-confidence forecasts for Christmas Day are still several days away. The storm is also expected to coincide with an outbreak of Arctic air forecast to drop temperatures to "bone-chilling levels," according to AccuWeather. The National Weather Service forecast below-average temperatures in the days before Christmas throughout most of the country, including the East Coast, South and Midwest, as the Arctic airmass heads toward the Midwest and Ohio.

El Paso mayor declares state of emergency as migrant crisis grows

El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser declared a state of emergency Saturday in response to the worsening immigration crisis, which has left scores of migrants sleeping on the streets in recent days. Though Leeser has long resisted issuing a state of emergency declaration, he said Saturday the move would allow the city to tap into much-needed additional resources, which will become necessary with the Dec. 21 end to Title 42 expulsions, the Trump-era policy that permits Customs and Border Protection to expel migrants without the usual legal review. The policy, which was enacted during the pandemic, allowed migrants to be sent back to Mexico or their home countries to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in holding facilities.

Real quick

Los Angeles' celebrity mountain lion P-22 euthanized due to severe injuries, illness

California's celebrity mountain lion P-22 was euthanized on Saturday, ending the feline's decades-long reign over Los Angeles, after he was found with severe health problems, officials said. P-22, thought to be about 12 years old, was the face of an international effort to save California's threatened puma population and helped draw support for the world's biggest wildlife bridge, a $90 million project expected to be finished in 2025. The beloved cat made a home in Griffith Park near the famed Hollywood Sign. After a comprehensive medical evaluation, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife found that the mountain lion "had several severe injuries and chronic health problems." He was "compassionately euthanized," officials said.

Vikings pull off biggest comeback in NFL history with victory over Colts

The Minnesota Vikings' Greg Joseph kicked a 40-yard field goal with two seconds left in overtime and the Vikings engineered the biggest comeback in NFL history to beat the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 on Saturday. The Vikings also clinched the NFC North after coming back from a 33-0 halftime deficit. The previous largest comeback belongs to the Buffalo Bills, who overcame a 32-point deficit against the Houston Oilers in the AFC Wild Card round in January 1993.

Contributing: Associated Press

Hurricane Ian regained strength; death toll mounts: Recap

Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Thursday, Sept. 29. For our latest coverage of Hurricane Ian, see updates from Friday, Sept. 30.

Click here for a lite version of this page with a quicker load time.

Ian became a hurricane again Thursday evening after hammering Florida with heavy rains and powerful winds, leaving a rising death toll and thousands of residents desperately seeking rescue from the effects of one of the most devastating storms in U.S. history.

The large system, which had been downgraded to a tropical storm on its way out of Florida and into the Atlantic ocean, is expected to head toward the Carolinas and Georgia. Ian's sustained winds increased to 85 mph late Thursday and it could bring "life-threatening flooding, storm surge and strong winds'' to those states, the National Hurricane Center said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the storm caused a "500-year flooding event" and said Coast Guard helicopters were plucking trapped residents from the roofs of homes. Communities across the state were or will be swamped by the overwhelming waters, he said.

"The impacts of this storm are historic and the damage that has been done is historic," DeSantis said. "We've never seen a flood event like this, we've never seen a storm surge of this magnitude."

At least 14 people were reported dead in counties across the state, a number that's expected to rise substantially. Sheriffs in southwest Florida said 911 centers were inundated by thousands of stranded callers, some with life-threatening emergencies. More than 1.9 million Florida homes and businesses were without power Thursday evening.

Hurricane Ian-related losses thus far range between $25 and $40 billion, the Fitch Ratings credit agency reported Thursday in an initial analysis of the damage.

Even after Ian had weakened to a tropical storm and headed out to the Atlantic early Thursday, its outer bands were still buffeting the state. The storm flooded entire communities, leaving residents stranded in their homes after making landfall Wednesday with 150-mph maximum sustained winds – just 7 mph shy of a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale.

Major to record flooding will continue across central Florida and considerable flooding is expected in portions of the Carolinas and southern Virginia through Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm previously tore into Cuba, killing two people and bringing down the entire country's electrical grid.

Latest developments:

►President Joe Biden declared an emergency in South Carolina and ordered federal assistance for the state, according to a White House statement. Ian is located about 185 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, and is moving north-northeast at 10 mph, the hurricane center said late Thursday.

►The U.S. Coast Guard was searching for a group of more than 20 Cuban migrants after their boat sank in stormy weather near the Florida Keys. A U.S. Border Patrol agent tweeted that nine have been rescued and that the search for the rest continues.

►Ian’s strength at landfall tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane when measured by wind speed to strike the U.S. It's tied with five other hurricanes that reached 150 mph — two in Florida, two in Louisiana and one in Texas.

►Waffle House, known for always being open, said 35 outlets were shut down due to the storm as of Thursday morning.

►Residents described the terror after a tornado tore through a condominium complex near Delray Beach on the Atlantic side of South Florida, ripping off roofs and turning over vehicles. "I felt things blow past my head and face," resident Jim Travis said. "When I opened the door, my apartment was destroyed." Read more.

Quick links:

GET TEXT UPDATES : Sign up here for text updates on Hurricane Ian.

: Sign up here for text updates on Hurricane Ian. HURRICANE IAN TRACKER: Where is Ian headed? See the map.

Reenergized Ian expected to make landfall in South Carolina

Like a villain in a horror movie, Ian is coming back to wreak havoc just when it seemed to go away.

Once a Category 4 hurricane, Ian was a tropical storm as it moved Thursday off the coast of Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean, where the warm water reenergized it. In the afternoon, Ian once again became a hurricane — meaning it packs winds of at least 74 mph — and is expected to make landfall once again, this time Friday in South Carolina.

Hurricane and storm surge warnings have been issued for the South Carolina coast because of Ian's predicted approach, the National Hurricane Center said.

Forecast call for a storm surge of several feet and flooding in low areas along the coast, like Charleston, where Mayor John Tecklenburg warned residents: “Take this storm seriously. Tomorrow, stay home and stay out of harm’s way.”

Collapsed causeway, shark swimming on a street part of Ian's legacy

Parts of Florida's Gulf Coast were devastated as Ian swept through the state, damaging buildings and homes and flooding communities.

Sanibel Island in Lee County, near where the hurricane made landfall, was among the hardest hit. Parts of the Sanibel Causeway collapsed, disconnecting the barrier island of 6,300 residents from the mainland.

“Sanibel is destruction ... it got hit with really biblical storm surge,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

Sanibel Island officials said two people died as a result of the hurricane. At a Thursday night news conference, the officials said members of at least 200 households remained on the island during the storm. At least 40 uninjured people were evacuated and another 12 injured ones were taken to hospitals.

In Fort Myers, the water on the streets of one neighborhood was so deep a shark was seen swimming through it. In Cape Coral just to the south, photos showed a sailboat washed up in the middle of a road near homes.

Water coursed through the streets of Naples, creating giant waves that made roads impassable and flooded the city’s fire department. A video posted by Naples Fire Rescue showed crews working to salvage equipment and firetrucks in more than 3 feet of water.

About 70 miles north along the coast, intense storm surge flooded a hospital's lower level emergency room in Port Charlotte, while fierce winds ripped away part of the roof from its intensive care unit, according to a doctor who works there.

Water gushed down from above onto the ICU, forcing staff to evacuate the hospital’s sickest patients – some of whom were on ventilators – to other floors, said Dr. Birgit Bodine of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital.

At least 14 deaths confirmed in Florida, toll expected to grow

The destruction and upheaval left behind by Ian has made it difficult to get an accurate assessment of the loss of life, but there are already reports of 14 deaths, and more are expected.

Two of them were reported by officials in Sanibel Island, where residents of at least 200 households declined to evacuate and rode out the storm.

Charlotte County Commissioner Chris Constance told CNN Thursday afternoon there have been six confirmed fatalities in the county, which is just north of Fort Myers.

Also speaking to CNN, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said at least five deaths have been confirmed in his county, which includes Cayo Costa — the island near Cape Coral where the storm made landfall Wednesday.

And a 72-year-old man in Deltona, about 30 miles northeast of Orlando, died after falling into a canal while using a hose to drain his pool in the heavy rain, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said.

Constance said four shelters in his county had to be evacuated because of structural damage, and many roads were impassable because of downed power lines or flooding.

“It is the biggest catastrophe I have ever seen in my lifetime,” said Constance, speaking from Broward County in South Florida, where he traveled ahead of the storm. “This is unprecedented and I was in Punta Gorda through Hurricane Charley (in 2004). While that was devastating, this is so much bigger, is affecting so many more people.''

Biden: Ian could be 'deadliest hurricane in Florida's history'

President Joe Biden said Thursday that Ian could be the “deadliest hurricane in Florida's history,” vowing the federal government will provide assistance “however long it takes” to ensure a full recovery.

“The numbers are still unclear, but we're hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life,” Biden said after he was briefed on FEMA’s disaster response at the agency’s headquarters in Washington.

At least 13 people were reported dead in counties across the state, though Florida officials have not provided an official death total from the storm. It wasn’t clear on what Biden based his estimate on the loss of life. The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane killed up to 2,500 in Florida. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 killed 43 people.

“We know many families are hurting today, and our entire country hurts with them.'' Biden said. "My message to the people of Florida and to the country is that at times like these America comes together.”

The president said he offered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “the fullest federal support” in a phone conversation Thursday morning and told Florida mayors to “call me directly” if they need help.

– Joey Garrison

Hurricane Ian losses: $25-$40 billion

Hurricane Ian-related losses, mostly in Florida, range between $25 and $40 billion, the Fitch Ratings credit agency reported Thursday in an initial analysis of the damage.

Fitch said the losses could climb higher “depending on the effect of the storm in the Carolinas.” The storm made landfall Wednesday on the Gulf Coast and traveled across central Florida before exiting on Thursday as a tropical storm. It has since turned into a Category 1 storm and headed toward South Carolina.

In comparison to other storms, Fitch said Hurricane Katrina’s losses were $65 billion in 2005 and Hurricane Ida’s losses were $36 billion last year.

- Sergio Bustos

Ian the 'ultimate villain' at Disney World; parks to start reopening Friday

While Disney World was closed to guests Thursday as Ian swept across central Florida, some who were already staying at the park's resorts weathered the storm with limited staff and upset children.

Jan Tuckwood, who splits time between Lake Worth, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina, said Disney's Swan Reserve hotel felt like the Twilight Zone to her and her family.

"Disney World is as you would imagine it to be if an incredible amount of children have been pent up for two days and basically had their hopes dashed by the ultimate villain, Hurricane Ian," she said.

During the storm, water started leaking into their hotel room on the 14th floor and they were relocated to another room, she said.

Disney officials said the parks were being assessed for damage Thursday and operations would resume in a phased approach Friday.

– Suzy Fleming Leonard, Florida Today

Erosion-control rocks tossed by high surf

In Flagler Beach, county emergency officials reported damage to the end of the pier as a result of the high and pounding surf, the National Weather Service in Jacksonville said, adding that public reports indicated the surf was tossing erosion-control rocks over the beachside highway State Road A1A.

At Pellicer Creek near Marineland, the tide gauge reached a height of 4 feet over the high-water mark, which represents major flooding of the Intracoastal Waterway, as a result of storm surge. A Weatherstem camera showed flooding of the University of Florida's Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience.

-- Dinah Pulver

Ian as viewed through a peephole in North Port

Elizabeth Hayes watched the entirety of Hurricane Ian pass over her home in North Port, 50 miles northwest of Fort Myers, through a peephole in her shutters. The longtime resident says she was not prepared for the devastating flooding – and she knows more floodwater is on its way.

Heyes said only the roof of her shed in the yard is above water. North Port residents are using small boats, kayaks and paddle boards to inspect homes that flooded along the Myakkahatchee Creek on Thursday morning.

“We’ve seen it flood, we’ve boated in and out before, but this is devastating,” Hayes said.

Airports closed, flights canceled

Most Florida airports remained closed Thursday and numerous flights were canceled. Airports that are open are dealing with delays as well as cancellations.

Nearly 2,000 U.S. flights were canceled Thursday, and the highest numbers were across Florida, according to Flight Aware, which tracks flight status in real time. Travel through parts of Georgia and the Carolinas was also impacted as the storm moved north. Tampa International Airport officials tweeted that damage assessments were underway.

"We are closely coordinating our reopening with the FAA, TSA, airlines, and other partners based on roadway safety, facility readiness, and required staffing," the post said. "We hope to have an update on reopening plans later today."

– Eve Chen, USA TODAY

Section of Sanibel Causeway crashes into sea

A section of the Sanibel Causeway collapsed into San Carlos Bay, cutting off access to the barrier island where 6,300 people normally live. A mandatory evacuation order had been issued for the island ahead of the storm but authorities said about 200 households stayed behind.

DeSantis said Thursday morning that more than 100 engineers in pairs of two will work to assess the bridges along the west coast of Florida.

Biden issues disaster declaration

President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration to make federal funding available to affected residents in the Florida counties of Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota. DeSantis said he would ask that the declaration be expanded as more counties report crippling damage from Ian.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help residents and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. Federal funding also is available for debris removal.

Biden said his administration was "continuing to take swift action to help the families of Florida. ... I want the people of Florida to know that we will be here at every step of the way."

St. Petersburg dodged worst of Ian

After thousands of people evacuated earlier this week, preparing for life-threatening storm surge, residents in St. Petersburg awoke Thursday to minimal damage.

Police directed traffic at intersections with broken traffic lights. Some trees had fallen, blocking roadways and taking down power lines. In Coquina Key, an island community south of downtown, a Norfolk Island pine had snapped in half, its branches scattered in a yard. Nearby, Dale Fredrick used a chainsaw to cut branches of another downed tree blocking a roadway.

“It won’t take long,” Fredrick, 58, said. “Just little by little.”

Hurricane Ian tracker

USA TODAY's Hurricane Ian tracker will remain updated and offer the latest look at where the storm is headed.

Lee County sheriff fears 'hundreds' could be dead but DeSantis says nothing confirmed

The hurricane’s center made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane Wednesday afternoon near Cayo Costa, a barrier island just west of heavily populated Fort Myers in Lee County.

"While I don't have confirmed numbers, I definitely know the fatalities are in the hundreds," Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America." "There are thousands of people that are waiting to be rescued."

Pressed on the numbers, Marceno said, "So far confirmed in the hundreds. Meaning that we are responding to events, drownings. Again, unsure of the exact details because we are just starting to scratch the surface on this assessment."

Gov. Ron DeSantis attempted to downplay the sheriff's assessment, telling "Good Morning America'' those numbers weren't verified.

WHAT IS STORM SURGE?Explaining a hurricane's deadliest and most destructive threat

“None of that is confirmed,” DeSantis said at a morning briefing at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. “What that is, there were 911 calls from people in their homes saying, ‘Hey, the water is rising. I’m going to go up in the attic, but I’m really worried.’”

“Of course, those folks now are going to be checked on,” DeSantis said. “I think you’ll have more clarity about that in the next day or so, as (rescuers) are able to go to those locations and determine whether people need services.”

More than 1.9M Floridians without power

More than 1.9 million homes and businesses across Florida were without power Thursday evening, according to PowerOutage.us. Most of the homes and businesses in 12 counties were without power, although authorities said they were making progress in restoring electricity.

DeSantis said the power grids in Lee and Charlotte counties will likely have to be rebuilt.

"Lee and Charlotte are basically off the grid at this point," DeSantis said. "That's going to be more than just connecting a power line back to a pole."

Hospital roof partially torn off, fire station flooded: Damage in Florida

Parts of Florida's Gulf Coast saw major damage as Hurricane Ian swept through the state, damaging buildings and homes and flooding communities.

Water coursed through the streets of Naples, creating giant waves that made roads impassable and flooded the city’s fire department. A video posted by Naples Fire-Rescue showed crews working to salvage equipment and firetrucks in more than 3 feet of water. In Cape Coral, about 30 miles up the coast, photos showed a sailboat washed up in the middle of a road near homes.

Nearby Fort Myers saw intense storm surge flooding coastal communities and the area around WINK News, a local CBS affiliate. Videos showed water reaching car windshields in the studio's parking lot and some of the storm surge leaking into the building.

Farther north along the coast, intense storm surge flooded a hospital's lower level emergency room in Port Charlotte, while fierce winds ripped away part of the roof from its intensive care unit, according to a doctor who works there.

Water gushed down from above onto the ICU, forcing staff to evacuate the hospital’s sickest patients – some of whom were on ventilators – to other floors, said Dr. Birgit Bodine of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital. Staff members used towels and plastic bins to try to mop up the sodden mess.

Officials warned flash floods were possible across the state, which could lead to pollution and radioactive waste overflow.

SAFFIR-SIMPSON WIND SPEED SCALE:Breaking down wind speed scale for hurricanes.

HOW DOES HURRICANE IAN COMPARE:Category 5 hurricanes are rare. Is Ian's punch the worst U.S. has seen?

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; Kate Cimini, USA Today Network-Florida; Jesse Mendoza and Kathryn Varn, Sarasota Herald-Tribune; Associated Press

Winter storm warning has East Coast bracing for potential bomb ...

A swath of the East Coast was bracing Thursday for the second major winter storm in five days while blinding snow, high winds and below-zero temperatures rolled across much of the nation's northern tier.

AccuWeather senior meteorologist Joe Lundberg said a storm targeting much of the East should develop into the first bomb cyclone of 2022. A bomb cyclone is defined as a storm whose central pressure plummets 24 millibars in 24 hours. The storm could whip up strong winds, pull in more moisture and drive higher snow totals as it heads toward New England, Lundberg said.

In the East, New York state was already being blasted Thursday by lake-effect snow. Buffalo had already picked up over 14 inches of snow by early afternoon, the National Weather Service said.

"Heavy snow at the Buffalo airport this morning has already established a record for the date," the National Weather Service tweeted Thursday.

In the South, Nashville was also seeing snow Thursday: "Snow has spread across much of Middle Tennessee including Nashville Metro, and travel is deteriorating quickly," the National Weather Service in Nashville tweeted. "1-2 inches per hour could fall at times."

Thursday was the snowiest day in Nashville since Jan. 22, 2016, when 8 inches of snow fell in one day, according to AccuWeather. As of noon Thursday, the airport was up to 4 inches since midnight, AccuWeather said.

Authorities in Tennessee urged people to travel only when necessary. Metro Nashville Police reported accidents and other driving woes that snarled and slowed several roads. Police reported dozens of wrecks on the roads by early afternoon.

Along the Kentucky border, authorities in Montgomery County, Tennessee, were dealing with dozens of crashes as well, including a wreck that killed one person involving a commercial vehicle on Interstate 24.

Schools around the region canceled classes, including a closure through Friday for Nashville’s public school students. Parts of Maryland and Virginia were awaiting the storm, which was due to roll in Thursday afternoon and evening.

In and around Washington, D.C., where more than a foot of snow fell in some places Monday, up to 3 inches more snow was forecast Thursday night into Friday.

WHAT IS A BOMB CYCLONE?:The weather phenomenon is basically a winter hurricane

Virginia officials sought to reassure the public Thursday as they reacted to harsh criticism of their response to a snowstorm earlier this week that left hundreds of motorists stranded on Interstate 95 in frigid temperatures.

Crews in Virginia worked through Tuesday to free up a roughly 50-mile traffic jam on I-95 that trapped scores of drivers in their cars for more than 24 hours. More than 100,000 Virginia homes and businesses remained without power Thursday from Monday's storm.

"These back-to-back storms will generate landmark winter weather that requires extra flexibility, particularly as many continue to deal with power outages," said Gov. Ralph Northam, who declared a state of emergency and has formally asked the Virginia National Guard for assistance ahead of the latest storm.

Northam also pushed back against the criticism, questioning why drivers were out in force on the highways Monday when they had been warned to stay home.

Virginia lawmakers, local officials, at least two members of Congress and the AAA auto club called for action. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Crystal Vanuch, a Republican and lifelong county native, said Thursday that the gridlock was “probably the biggest disaster we’ve ever seen.”

According to Vanuch, the county’s emergency operations command received roughly 1,800 calls for service over a 24-hour period — more than five times the normal amount — and local emergency workers told her they weren’t getting the help they needed from state officials.

Northam, a Democrat who leaves office later this month, said in an uncharacteristically combative interview that he was “getting sick and tired of people talking about what went wrong.”

He told radio station WRVA that no one was injured and that people should be thanking first responders and emergency workers.

'AN OUTRAGE': Why drivers were left stranded overnight, some for 24 hours, on I-95 in Virginia

Up to a foot of snow could sweep across parts of Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, if the storm strengthens fast enough, AccuWeather said. Boston was expecting up to 8 inches.

"This will be a disruptive storm, and since cold air will be preceding the storm, snow will accumulate on roads as soon as it starts,” AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.

ICE CAUSES DEADLY TRAFFIC ISSUES: Virginia's Gov. Northam declares state of emergency

Lake-effect snow bands were already slamming Buffalo and surrounding areas of western New York on Thursday, producing snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. Gusty winds up to 25 mph were also creating limited visibility and dangerous travel conditions along stretches of Interstate 90.

The news wasn't all bad, however: The storm presented a boon to the ski industry in West Virginia, where up to 8 inches of snow was forecast. Three of the state’s four major downhill ski resorts had suspended on-slope operations earlier this week because of warmer conditions. Now the activity was picking back up.

“West Virginia can’t wait to welcome travelers to our snow-capped mountains this winter,” said Chelsea Ruby, secretary of the state’s Department of Tourism.

Elsewhere, in the Upper Midwest, parts of Michigan were buried under a foot of snow, with more expected into Friday. Minnesota and Wisconsin were expecting less snow, but wind chills of minus 25 to minus 35 will continue into Friday morning across much of the state, the weather service said.

Dangerously cold temperatures enveloping North Dakota have pushed wind chill readings down to minus 59 degrees in Bowbells, the county seat of Burke County in northwestern North Dakota.

And a powerful storm was pounding parts of Colorado on Thursday with what could reach 16 inches of snow, the National Weather Service said. In some areas, winds were gusting to 55 mph.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Winter storm updates: Deaths reported; widespread power outages

A powerful winter storm kept pummeling the United States on Christmas Eve with dangerously cold temperatures and heavy snow – leaving in its wake fatal car crashes, thousands of canceled flights and millions at risk for future power outages.

The massive footprint of the winter weather and its timing during a busy holiday travel week makes the arctic blast particularly dangerous. The National Weather Service on Friday said its warnings and advisories covered about 200 million people – "one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” forecasters said.

Nationwide, officials have attributed at least 18 deaths to the storm.

In Ohio, about 50 vehicles were involved in a pileup that killed at least 4. An 82-year-old woman was found dead outside of her assisted care facility in Michigan on Friday amid dangerously cold temperatures. And in the Buffalo, New York, area – which received stunning records of rain and snowfall on Friday – two people died in their homes after emergency responders couldn't reach them amid the city's historic blizzard conditions.

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TRAVEL:More than 5,000 US flights canceled amid winter storm. What to know about waivers.

The winter weather's dangers are often localized and not limited to snowfall. In New York, blizzard conditions created whiteouts and stranded motorists on the state's western side while flooding prompted water rescues on the eastern side.

Meanwhile, bone-numbing wind chills extended throughout the country. Every state in the contiguous U.S. will experience minimum wind chills below freezing on Christmas or before, the weather service says.

Only a few regions in the U.S. are expected to escape bitter cold over Christmas — parts of California, Oregon, Arizona and Florida are among the few spots in the nation that won't experience wind chills below freezing, the weather service predicts.

PHOTOS:Intense winter storm blows across the US with blizzards and bitter cold

Other impacts from the storm kept accumulating Saturday. Power outage reports swelled up to some 1.7 million Saturday morning before falling significantly in the afternoon – and thousands of flights were canceled amid a busy holiday travel season.

"Severe weather across the country led to more than 20% of flights being canceled (Friday). Impacts continue today but FAA expects that the most extreme disruptions are behind us as airline and airport operations gradually recover," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wrote on Twitter Saturday.

Buttigieg also noted that "many Amtrak services have been canceled or delayed as well." He cautioned those traveling by car this weekend to observe local warnings and weather hazards.

When will the winter storm be over?

Not before Christmas.

Federal forecasters expect a huge mass of cold air to continue affecting the nation into next week. Those temperatures are a concern from the Dakotas to Florida even on Monday and Tuesday.

"Wind chills will still bottom out in the 20s and low 30s Monday and Tuesday morning for most locations in the South outside of south Florida," a Friday forecast says.

But low temperatures are forecasters' primary concern for most of the country by Monday. Flooding, rain and other hazards are only expected to affect more localized regions.

NY governor says storm is 'one of the worst in history'; record Buffalo snow

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the snowstorm hitting western parts of the state, particularly the Buffalo area, as "one of the worst in history" at a press briefing Saturday morning.

Hochul, who issued a statewide State of Emergency that went into effect early Friday, also pointed to the storm's impact on transportation hazards and emergency response. Every fire truck in Buffalo, she said, was stranded and stuck in snow as of Saturday morning.

"No matter how many emergency vehicles we have, they cannot get through the conditions as we speak," Hochul said.

According to the weather service, Buffalo reported a daily snowfall of 22.3 inches Friday – almost doubling the old record of 12.6 inches set in 1976. The city also reported 1.98 inches of rain on Friday, surpassing the 1876 record of 1.73 inches.

Watch:'Zero-Mile' visibility as Buffalo Airfield closes on night before Christmas Eve

"In Buffalo, this storm will likely at least jump near the top of the list of worst blizzards in the city’s history, if not even becoming the worst," meteorologist Jake Sojda said in an AccuWeather article. "Four to 6 feet of snow will fall by Sunday and coupled with wind gusts approaching hurricane force (74 mph or greater) to create enormous drifts and impossible travel."

In addition to Hochul's declaration, Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown issued a State of Emergency beginning Friday morning.

"I’ve never seen the likes of this kind of storm,” Colleen Darby, 59, a lifelong resident of the area, told The Associated Press. "I can’t even get out of my house right now. The snow is up to my chest."

Hochul said on Saturday that she will also ask the federal government for an emergency declaration, which would allow New York to seek reimbursements for the "extraordinary expenses" undertaken with overtime, mutual aid brought in from around the state and the deployment of crews responding to the unprecedented storm.

Thousands of flight delays, cancellations on Christmas Eve

Travelers heading to airports on Christmas Eve are facing thousands of flight delays and cancellations.

FlightAware, an online tracker, reported Saturday as of 4:00 p.m. ET, more than 6,100 delays and over 2,600 cancellations for flights within, into or out of the U.S.

FlightAware's "Misery Map" showed more than 900 delays and over 250 cancellations seen between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET Saturday – with Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Denver International Airport experiencing the highest number of flight delays and cancellations as of Saturday afternoon.

Friday saw even more flights impacted – with FlightAware reporting a total more than 11,500 U.S. flight delays and over 5,900 U.S. flight cancellations.

Power outages hit more than 1 million homes, business early Saturday

On Saturday, power outages impacted more than a million electric customers across the country, according to the website PowerOutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

Reports swelled to about 1.7 million before falling significantly Saturday afternoon. North Carolina and Maine reported the highest number of power outages Saturday afternoon.

In Tennessee and North Carolina, utility companies initiated controlled, temporary outages in efforts to save energy. Customers of Memphis, Light, Gas and Water and Duke Energy, for example, were impacted by these rolling blackouts Saturday morning.

Both companies confirmed that they were ending the temporary outages by mid-day Saturday. But similar action could still be taken in the future.

"The weather is still frigid and power demand may fluctuate. We are asking customers to be prepared in the event (the Tennessee Valley Authority) implements rolling blackouts. We could be required to do so at any time without notice. We are currently restoring power to all customers who are interrupted," Memphis, Light, Gas and Water CEO Doug McGowen said in a statement issued at 11 a.m. CT.

Pennsylvania-based PJM Interconnection said that, due to the severe weather, power plants were having difficulty operating – asking residents in 13 states to refrain from unnecessary use of electricity. The major electricity grid operator also warned the 65 million people it serves across the eastern U.S. that future rolling blackouts might be required.

Be prepared::How to arm your home against power outages this winter

Authorities urge people to stay home in many areas

Local and state authorities in states including Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky have urged residents to limit travel.

Michigan State Police on Friday warned travelers to stay off the roads.

“Most roads are icy and impacted by blowing snow, which is causing low visibility,” police posted on Facebook. “If travel is not necessary, please stay home.”

Some forecasters have said the storm's danger doesn't primarily come from the amount of snowfall — it's a combination of snow, wind, ice and frigid temperatures that were particularly concerning in some areas.

"Don't focus too much on the snow totals ... Significant blowing and drifting will be occurring. Avoid travel!" the weather service in Buffalo said Friday afternoon.

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The weather service office reported recieving numerous reports Friday night of people being stranded along roadways.

What is the polar vortex?

According to the weather service, the polar vortex is a giant, circular area of rotating cold air and low pressure that surrounds both of Earth's poles. In the U.S., focus remains on the North Pole's polar vortex – because it impacts weather in the Northern Hemisphere.

People may only talk about the polar vortex when it sends frigid temperatures south of the Arctic – but it always exists, the weather service notes, its strength changing between seasons.

What is the polar vortex? In-depth look at how it can affect winter weather in the US.

When the polar vortex is stable and strong, it typically stays near the North Pole. But when it weakens or splits, frigid air can escape, funneling freezing temperatures farther south to the U.S., Europe and Asia.

What is wind chill?

Meteorologists define wind chill as how cold it feels while outdoors, and it’s based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by the wind-and-cold combination, according to the National Weather Service. Increased wind draws heat from the body, which then lowers the temperature of the skin and internal body.

“Frostbite may develop on exposed skin in as few as 10-20 mins, and hypothermia can quickly develop if you're not dressed for the cold,” weather service experts in Chicago warned Thursday.

Contributing: The Associated Press. Doyle Rice, USA TODAY. Samuel Hardiman, Memphis Commercial Appeal. Bryce Airgood and Mark Johnson, Lansing State Journal.

Snow-inundated Buffalo faces more challenges in the aftermath of ...

CNN —

Days into the deadly winter storm that bedeviled much of the country, the challenges are far from over for residents and authorities in Buffalo, New York.

The death toll continues to climb as authorities check on homes and cars for anyone who was stranded in the storm. At least 31 people died in New York’s Erie County as the storm buried Buffalo in up to 50.3 inches of snow. At least 25 others across 11 US states have been reported dead in the storm.

“We’re, unfortunately, finding bodies on the street and in snow banks,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday evening.

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More than 7,000 utility workers were working around the clock to restore power in the area, navigating through broken trees and poles, according to Twitter posts from Poloncarz and National Grid US.

Local health officials were urgently responding to medical requests, including arranging transportation for people who need dialysis treatments – many of which were disrupted or delayed because of the storm. “Dialysis isn’t an optional or elective treatment. It has to be done regularly – several times a week – or that person dies,” the Erie County health department said.

Buffalo police, meanwhile, arrested at least eight people by Tuesday afternoon in connection with business break-ins during the storm.

And efforts of firefighters and other emergency vehicles working in the area were hampered by the hundreds of vehicles abandoned in the snow across Buffalo after fierce blizzard conditions made for blinding drives over the Christmas weekend, officials said.

A driving ban remained in effect in Buffalo amid a two-day effort to clear at least one lane on every street to accommodate emergency responders, Poloncarz said at a news conference.

“There’s a lot of roads that are completely blocked right now, that have no access whatsoever. And people are trying to drive on these roads or trying to get into these neighborhoods, and they can’t,” Poloncarz said.

“Please, please,” he said. “I’m begging: Stay home. If it’s an emergency situation, call 911.”

A weary Buffalo on Tuesday after days of winter weather that left parts of the city impassable. Joed Viera/AFP/Getty Images

Driving ban in effect; flood mitigation

Buffalo could see up to another half an inch of snow into Tuesday night and a daytime high of 30 degrees falling to 27 at night in New York’s second-most populous city.

But temperatures are expected to rise throughout the rest of the week, and local officials are worried that may cause flooding.

The flood risk is small, according to the National Weather Service, which said that snow melting alone “rarely causes flooding.” And even though there’s light rain forecast for the region, “it should take around an inch of rain from this system before flooding becomes a concern,” the weather service said.

Still, the leader of Erie County’s Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Services said crews were working to prevent any possibility of floods.

As temperatures warm, authorities wanted “to make sure that we are cleared from curb to curb and as in many areas as possible so that when it melts it can run off and it can find its appropriate drainage,” commissioner Daniel Neaverth said.

Other steps toward recovery include:

• President Joe Biden on Monday approved an emergency declaration for New York, freeing up federal resources to help disaster relief efforts in Erie and Genesee counties.

• One hundred military police from the New York National Guard are heading to Erie County, along with state police from other parts of New York, Poloncarz said. New Jersey state police will fill in for New York officers diverted to Buffalo, he said.

• Buffalo Niagara International Airport is expected to stay closed until late Wednesday morning, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority said, after snow equipment was brought in from Pittsburgh to help it reopen.

• More supermarkets in western New York were expected to reopen after road conditions had paralyzed earlier efforts to distribute stockpiled ready-to-eat meals to food banks, officials said.

• Major highways – including the New York State Thruway, Interstates 20 and 990, and Routes 400 and 219 – have reopened, the state Transportation Department’s Rochester office announced.

It was a signal, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a tweet, “that we are finally turning the corner on this once-in-a-generation storm.”

‘Gut-wrenching’ effort to check on residents plods on

The storm in Buffalo has been deemed more ferocious than the blizzard of 1977, which left 23 people there dead. The weekend weather “was just horrendous,” Poloncarz said earlier. “And it was horrendous for 24 hours in a row.”

Indeed, blizzard conditions were recorded for 37.5 hours, CNN meteorologist Tom Sater said, noting, “That just doesn’t happen.”

Even emergency and recovery vehicles were at times stuck in snow. “We had rescuers rescuing the rescuers,” Buffalo Deputy Mayor Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney told “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday, adding those problems have been resolved.

Hundreds of vehicles were abandoned in the snow in Buffalo, New York State Police Acting Superintendent Steven Nigrelli said, adding authorities were going door-to-door, car-to-car, checking for people.

A utility worker straps a rope to a truck in an attempt to tow another in Buffalo, New York, on Monday. Joed Viera/AFP/Getty Images

One reported death in Erie County was attributed to an EMS delay, while others involved people who were outside, in cars, had no heating or suffered cardiac arrest.

The death toll is expected to rise, officials have said. Once roads are cleared, law enforcement planned to prioritize welfare checks, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said Monday.

“I have a bad feeling about that. I think the death toll is going to go up. When you have 420 EMS calls that are unanswered, it’s just gut-wrenching,” the sheriff said as his team planned to help get “people to doctors, nurses, to hospitals and … dialysis.”

By Tuesday evening, there were “just under 2,000” residents without power across Buffalo, Mayor Byron W. Brown said on Twitter, adding officials were still working to restore power to everyone.

Getting the lights back on has been no easy task as utility crews have faced dangerous weather conditions, Hochul said.

People and vehicles move about Monday on Main Street in Buffalo. Craig Ruttle/AP

More than 50 have died nationwide in storm

At least 56 storm-related deaths have been reported across several states:

• New York: In addition to the 31 deaths in Erie County, one fatal carbon monoxide poisoning has been reported in Niagara County.

• Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer of a building, possibly seeking warmth, and another in a camp in an alleyway.

• Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Highway Patrol said Friday.

• Kentucky: Three people have died, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle crash in Montgomery County.

• Missouri: One person died after a van slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said

• New Hampshire: A hiker was found dead in Franconia on Christmas morning, Lt. James Kneeland, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, said.

• Ohio: Nine people have died as a result of weather-related auto crashes, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75, when a tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.

• South Carolina: Two men – including a 91-year-old who went outside on Christmas Day to fix a broken water pipe – died due to the storm in Anderson County, the coroner’s office there said. The other victim died on Christmas Eve after his home lost power.

• Tennessee: The Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.

• Vermont: One woman in Castleton died after a tree fell on her home, according to the police chief.

• Wisconsin: The State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

People traverse Main Street in Buffalo, on Monday after a massive snowstorm blanketed the city. Craig Ruttle/AP

100 inches of snow sets Buffalo record

Across the country, cities and towns remain covered with thick snow: Baraga, Michigan, got 42.8 inches of snow while Henderson Harbor, New York, got 40.8 inches.

Buffalo has had the snowiest start ever to a winter season, with 92.7 inches of measurable snowfall from October through Christmas Day, according to the National Weather Service. The latest storm came just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm.

And thanks to another 7.3 inches of snow that fell Monday, the city has already reached 100 inches for the season – faster than any previous year going back to the 1880s, when record keeping began. Half this season’s record-pace snowfall has occurred since Friday.

Correction: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong time frame for snowfall accumulation in Baraga, Michigan, and Henderson Harbor, New York. Baraga got 42.8 inches of snow and Henderson Harbor got 40.8 inches over three days.

Dakin Andone Christina Maxouris Artemis Moshtaghian Nouran Salahieh

A powerful winter storm claims at least 22 lives across the US as ...

CNN —

More than 315,000 homes and businesses nationwide were without power Christmas Eve, thanks to an Arctic blast and winter storm that tore down power lines with destructive winds and heavy snow and dipped temperatures dangerously low – conditions killing at least 22 people.

As bone-chilling air continues to grip the US this holiday weekend, the storm still is pummeling parts of the Upper Midwest and interior Northeast with heavy snow and blizzard conditions.

Related: Follow live updates

In New York’s Buffalo area particularly, heavy snow (more than 2 feet in places) and strong winds (sometimes higher than 60 mph) at times made visibility close to zero Friday into Saturday. More than a foot more could fall Saturday, with winds gusting up to 65 mph and making temperatures feel well below zero.

In Erie County, which includes Buffalo, blizzard conditions are expected to continue through at least Sunday morning, County Executive Mark Poloncarz told reporters Saturday. The winter storm could continue for at least the next 36 hours, with the blizzard warning in effect until 7 a.m. Christmas morning, Poloncarz said.

“This is still a life-threatening situation,” he said. “This is nothing to be trifled with.”

The county’s Deputy Commissioner of Disaster Preparedness and Homeland Security, Gregory Butcher, said the storm will be significant “for days to come.”

About 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles in Erie County Friday night into Saturday morning, and a “couple hundred” may still be trapped early Saturday afternoon, Poloncarz told CNN. That’s despite a county driving ban put in place during the storm.

Lia Belles’ 85-year-old grandmother and her father were among the stranded.

They have been stuck on New York State Route 198 in Buffalo – less than a mile from her home – since Friday afternoon. Contact with them is limited due to their phone battery, and they have been turning the heat on and off to save gas.

“There is nothing more I want other than their safety right now,” Belles told CNN Saturday, adding that her dad could walk home but he would never leave his mother alone.

“I’ve tried to walk out to them with a sled but conditions by myself were just impossible,” she said.

Belles said by Saturday afternoon they got help getting the car unstuck but there was no path for them to leave.

“It’s very nerve racking and difficult,” she said. “They’re definitely exhausted, but we’re seeing a little hope right now.”

In hardest-hit areas, many emergency crews that tried to reach the stranded became stuck themselves, Poloncarz said.

“Don’t leave your home,” Poloncarz said on CNN Saturday to anyone thinking about traveling to or within the area. “It’s much safer to be inside, even if you lost your power with it only being 45 degrees inside, than going out and dealing with minus 20 wind chills and blinding conditions.”

National Guard troops were arriving Saturday to “rescue people that are stuck in vehicles,” and to give rides to medical workers so they could relieve colleagues who’d been working at hospitals for more than a day, Poloncarz said.

Buffalo Diocese Bishop Michael W. Fisher on Saturday urged churches to livestream Christmas Mass because of the severe weather.

“Although it is Christmas, in these dangerous conditions, no one should put themselves or others at risk,” he said via Twitter.

Even where it wasn’t snowing and howling, temperatures and wind chills have been dangerously low across much of the country.

From the Plains and the Midwest to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and even in parts of the Southeast, wind chills after the sun rose Saturday morning were below zero, according to the National Weather Service.

That included:

• Atlanta: 9 degrees; with minus 8 wind chill

• Memphis: 10 degrees; with minus 4 wind chill

• New York City: 8 degrees; with minus 8 wind chill

• St. Louis: 9 degrees; with minus 12 wind chill

• Washington, DC: 12 degrees; with minus 3 wind chill

At least 22 people have died since Wednesday across seven states, a result of dangerous and life-threatening conditions this week over a large swath of the country:

• Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer of a building possibly looking for warmth, and another in a transient camp in an alleyway.

• Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Kansas Highway Patrol said Friday.

• Kentucky: Three people have died in the state, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle accident in Montgomery County.

• Missouri: One person died after a caravan slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said.

• New York: Erie County has had three storm-related deaths, county officials said Saturday. Two died in separate incidents Friday night when emergency medical personnel could not get to their homes in time for medical emergencies, Poloncarz said Saturday morning. Details about the third death, confirmed by a county spokesperson Saturday afternoon, weren’t immediately available.

• Ohio: Eight people have died as a result of weather-related auto accidents, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75, when a semi tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.

• Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.

• Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

Snow blankets buildings in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday, December 28. Joed Viera/AFP/Getty Images National Guard troops check on Buffalo residents on December 28. Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP A traveler searches for luggage December 28 at a Southwest Airlines baggage holding area in Denver International Airport. More than 90% of Wednesday's US flight cancellations were Southwest flights, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Southwest canceled more than 2,500 flights. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images People help push a car out of snow in Buffalo on Tuesday, December 27. John Normile/Getty Images Niagara Falls in New York is partially frozen on December 27. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Travelers at Baltimore/Washington International Airport deal with the impact of canceled flights on December 27. Michael McCoy/Reuters A gas station canopy lays on its side after high winds and heavy snow in Lackawanna, New York, on December 27. The historic winter storm dumped up to 4 feet of snow on the area. John Normile/Getty Images Hundreds of unclaimed suitcases sit near the Southwest Airlines baggage claim area in Tennessee's Nashville International Airport after the airline canceled thousands of flights on December 27. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images A street is blanketed by snow in downtown Buffalo on Monday, December 26. Gov. Kathy Hochul/Twitter/AP A person clears a snow-covered driveway in Buffalo on December 26. Faith Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A man and a boy walk across the frozen Reflecting Pool towards the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on December 26. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Firefighters carry rescue equipment as they respond to a fire on a snow-covered street in Buffalo on Sunday, December 25. Jalen Wright/The New York Times/Redux Snow blankets a neighborhood in Cheektowaga, New York, on Christmas Day. Western New York is drowning in thick "lake effect" snow -- which forms when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Great Lakes -- just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm. John Waller via AP A man tries to dig out his car after he got stuck in a snowdrift about a block from home in Buffalo on Saturday, December 24. Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP Icicles created by a sprinkler hang from an orange tree in Clermont, Florida, on December 24. Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A young holiday traveler passes the time at Detroit Wayne County Metro Airport on December 24. Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images Pedestrians deal with the cold in Chicago on December 24. Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP Hoak's Restaurant in Hamburg, New York, is seen covered in ice from the spray of Lake Erie on December 24. Kevin Hoak via Reuters Nissan Stadium employees clear the field in Nashville before the an NFL football game on December 24. Mark Zaleski/AP Amanda Kelly cleans off snow and ice from her car in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, December 23. Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch/USA Today Network Cars drive in whiteout conditions in Orchard Park, New York, on December 23. Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News/AP Travelers sleep while lines of people pass through a security checkpoint at Denver International Airport. David Zalubowski/AP Snow-covered buildings are seen in Louisville, Kentucky. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images The waters of Lake Erie wash over the shoreline in Hamburg, New York, on December 23. John Normile/Getty Images Snow collects on a bison at the Longfield Farm in Goshen, Kentucky, on December 23. Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal/USA Today Network Volunteers welcome a homeless person to a shelter at Louisville's Broadbent Arena on December 23. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images Stones are removed from a road in Westport, Massachusetts, after a storm surge made landfall, flooding many coastal areas on December 23. Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times/AP The Louisville skyline is obscured by steam rising from the Ohio River on December 23. Matt Stone/The Louisville Courier/USA Today Network Antonio Smothers jump-starts his vehicle in Nashville on December 23. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images Rows of headstones at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery are blanketed by drifting snow in Mandan on Thursday, December 22. Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune/AP Migrants warm themselves by a fire next to the US-Mexico border fence on December 22 in El Paso, Texas. John Moore/Getty Images Robert Arnold puts chains onto the tires of his semitrailer while he waits for the eastbound lane of I-70 to reopen in Silverthorne, Colorado, on December 22. Jason Connolly/AFP/Getty Images A musician departs following a show on Broadway in Nashville on December 22. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images Brady Myers helps turn the Stewpot Community Services day shelter for the unhoused into an emergency overnight shelter in Jackson, Mississippi, on December 22. Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger/USA Today Network Vehicles travel along Interstate 44 on December 22, in St. Louis. Jeff Roberson/AP A person walks through the snow on December 22 in downtown Minneapolis. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/AP A clean car passes a snow-covered car in Des Moines, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP Travelers walk in front of flight information screens at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on December 22. Nam Y. Huh/AP Ice collects on a window in Oklahoma City on December 22. Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman/USA Today Network Bus riders wait at a sheltered stop in Chicago on December 22. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP An accident involving a semi-tractor-trailer blocks the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 in West Des Moines on December 22. Bryon Houlgrave/The Des Moines Register/AP Kids shovel snow off a sidewalk and driveway in Minneapolis on December 22. Abbie Parr/AP Travelers arrive for their flights at O'Hare International Airport on December 22 in Chicago. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images Mist rises above ice flows on the Yellowstone River on December 22 in Paradise Valley, Montana. William Campbell/Getty Images Students walk to school buses after early dismissal at a middle school in Wheeling, Illinois, on December 22. Nam Y. Huh/AP Miguel Salazar clears sidewalks in Denver on December 22. Hyoung Chang/Denver Post/Getty Images Travelers arrive at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on December 21. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/AP Salt is prepared to be loaded onto a truck at the Department of Public Works sanitation yard in Milwaukee on December 21. Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/AP Propane heaters sit next to pens at the City of Mission Animal Shelter in Mission, Texas, on December 21. Joel Martinez/The Monitor/AP Crews de-ice a Southwest Airlines plane before takeoff in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 21. Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald/AP An Iowa Department of Transportation plow clears a road in Iowa City on December 21. Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press Citizen/AP Snow covers homes in Seattle on December 20. Daniel Kim/The Seattle Times/AP In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US Prev Next

National Guard troops helping rescue stranded in Buffalo area

As of 9:45 p.m ET Saturday, 315,782 homes and businesses in the US had no electricity service, according to PowerOutage.us, leaving many people without proper heating or hot water as extremely low temperatures persist Saturday.

A power grid operator for at least 13 states in the country’s eastern half asked customers to conserve power from early Saturday to 10 a.m. on Sunday because usage was straining capacity – and warned rolling blackouts could happen if the strain becomes too much.

The operator, PJM Interconnection, serves about 65 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

PJM advised people to set thermostats lower than usual and postpone using major electric appliances such as stoves and dishwashers.

In a video on Twitter, a company official said the risk of rotating customer outages is “very real.”

In Tennessee, utilities intermittently interrupted power to customers for a few hours Saturday morning at the behest of the Tennesee Valley Authority – the state’s federally owned electricity provider – because the frigid weather was straining capacity.

The Nashville Electric Service told customers Saturday morning to expect “rotating, intermittent power outages” in about 10-minute increments every 90 minutes to two hours.

The TVA announced shortly before 11 a.m. CT that the interruptions were no longer needed.

In a statement the TVA said it will conduct “a thorough review of our processes, procedures and preparations once we get beyond this unprecedented event.”

During the rolling blackouts, Nashville’s mayor asked the NFL’s Tennessee Titans to postpone their scheduled noon CT Saturday home game against the Houston Texans. The NFL delayed the start for an hour, and said it explored “every possibility to minimize non-essential power around the stadium.”

Snow-covered buildings are seen in Louisville, Kentucky, under freezing temperatures on December 23. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images

More than 5,000 flights were canceled Friday with thousands more delayed, and more than 3,300 flights have been canceled Saturday, and more than 800 are already canceled for Christmas Day.

The NFL’s Buffalo Bills defeated the Chicago Bears in Chicago Saturday, but lost out to the weather. Due to Buffalo’s airport being closed due to deep snow and strong winds, the team was forced to stay in Chicago an extra night. They are expected to fly to Rochester, New York, on Sunday, and travel back to Buffalo from there.

What else to expect Christmas Eve

• Cold for many: Wind chills will be dangerously cold across much of the central and eastern US this weekend. “The life-threatening cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded,” the National Weather Service said early Saturday.

• Record temps in the South: Atlanta and Tallahassee, Florida, were forecast to have their coldest high temperature ever recorded on December 24, according to the weather service.

• Brutal cold elsewhere: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were expected to see their coldest day Christmas Eve ever on Saturday. Washington, DC, could see its second-coldest on Christmas Eve, the first being in 1989. New York is set to experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. Chicago is expecting temperatures to rebound above zero but will still experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.

Aya Elamroussi Jason Hanna Ray Sanchez
Aya Elamroussi
Jason Hanna
Ray Sanchez