Emergency crews are working to clear icy interstate highways in Mississippi, where drivers have been stranded amidst a severe, prolonged cold snap affecting the eastern U.S. This extreme weather has led to over 380,000 power outages, primarily in Mississippi and Tennessee, and at least 50 reported deaths. Forecasters predict this could be the longest period of freezing cold in decades, with more snow expected and a rise in carbon monoxide poisoning cases in areas without electricity.
Emergency crews dispatched to icy interstate highways in Mississippi worked overnight and into Wednesday morning to clear stranded vehicles as the eastern U.S. endured what forecasters said could become its longest period of freezing cold in decades. Officials sent tow trucks and drones to help drivers stuck in snarled traffic on Interstate 55 in northern Mississippi and other major highways, Gov. Tate Reeves said in a social media post. He said crews were still working Wednesday morning and urged people to stay off the roads. “And pray for the first responders that are doing what Mississippians do — going above and beyond for their fellow man,” Reeves posted Wednesday on X. Most of the eastern U.S. was still grappling with frigid weather days after a weekend storm blasted the Northeast and parts of the South with snow and ice. More than 380,000 homes and businesses, most of them in Mississippi and Tennessee, remained without electricity, according to the outage tracking website poweroutage.us. And at least 50 people had been reported dead in states afflicted by the dangerous cold. The toll includes three Texas brothers — ages 6, 8 and 9 — who perished after falling through the frozen surface of a pond in Texas. Another child, a toddler, died at a Virginia hospital after being pulled from a frigid pond Monday, according to local police. RELATED STORIES Trump signals interest in easing tensions, but Minneapolis sees little change on the streets 3 MIN READ Common sense and slowing down are the keys to avoiding icy weather accidents 4 MIN READ Valentino opens post-Garavani couture with somber note, then high drama 2 MIN READ Temperatures in the Midwest and Northeast were forecast to remain well below freezing throughout the day Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on Residents still shivering in the South were getting little relief. In Nashville, Tennessee, where nearly 100,000 power outages lingered early Wednesday, high temperatures were to rise just above freezing before plunging to 13 F (minus 10 C) overnight. One Nashville hospital was seeing a spike in patients being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning as people without electricity turned to fuel-burning generators, stoves, gas heaters and fireplaces to warm their homes. At least 48 children exposed to the deadly gas had been treated since Saturday at the emergency department at Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, spokesperson Jessica Pasley said. Forecasters predicted even colder weather for much of the U.S. this weekend. A new blast of arctic air is expected Friday and Saturday from the northern Plains to the Southeast, where meteorologists say record cold could stretch as far as Miami. The weather service said the prolonged freeze “could be the longest duration of cold in several decades.” Forecasters said there’s an increasing chance of heavy snow this weekend in the Carolinas and parts of Virginia, with more snowfall possible from Georgia to Maine. ___ Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press writers Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, and Sarah Brumfield in Washington contributed to this report.
