Texas pool pump blasts off like an ‘Elon Musk’ rocket
A suddenly unfrozen swimming pool pump blasted off in Texas, leaving the owner feet away from catastrophe — but with his sense of humor fully intact.
The 12-degree cold snap froze the pump, so being “smart, I picked up an industrial heater and set it near the pump,” the Plano man explained on social media.
“Well it thawed, I kicked it on,” he explained Sunday. “It spooled up and then the top of my filter pod broke loose and looked like @elonmusk launched a rocket from my house.”
Possible hypothermia death in Oregon
The death of a person who was found in their home near Portland, Oregon, is being investigated as a possible hypothermia death, the Washington County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
The office declined to identify the age or gender of the person found dead yesterday in Tigard.
The temps in Tigard dipped to 16 and 18 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Philadelphia freedom! Flying into the airport is safe again
The FAA will lift its weather-related ban on incoming flights to Philadelphia International Airport at 3 p.m. ET, an airport spokesperson said.
The ground stop, barring planes from landing at the airport, had been issued at 11:30 a.m. and was scheduled to be lifted at 1 p.m. before it was extended for another two hours.
Video shows FedEx truck going in circles in Kentucky
Few jobs are as difficult and appreciated today as those brave delivery service and postal employees, keeping goods on the move — even if it means going in a few circles through the snow.
This FedEx driver in Bowling Green, Kentucky, appeared to struggle with the slick, snow-covered roads, according to video shot by passerby Nick Crance.
The forecast high temperature for Bowling Green today is a frigid 19 degrees.
Another day of flying misery across the U.S.
More than 2,100 flights within, to or out of the U.S. have been canceled so far today.
There had been 2,113 flights taken off the board across snow-covered America by 2:25 p.m. ET, according to the tracking service FlightAware.
That number is actually a slight improvement from yesterday’s misery. Today’s cancellations will likely fall short of yesterday’s debacle of 3,342 grounded flights.
Many of today’s cancellations are not actually weather related, but the result of planes that didn’t make it to their destinations yesterday, from where they were to be turned around for today’s journeys.
ERCOT asks Texans to keep conserving power
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which serves most of the Lone Star State’s almost 30 million residents, asked consumers to continue conserving for another day with cold temperatures still lingering.
Even as temperatures climb a bit tomorrow, there’s expected to be increased power demands as more people finally make it back to work or school following the long MLK Day weekend.
The forecast high temperatures today for Houston and Dallas are 36 and 28 degrees, respectively. The mercury should climb to comparatively balmy temps of 47 and 40 degrees in those cities tomorrow.
Texas wants to avoid the disaster of February three years ago when the overwhelmed system left millions in the cold, without power. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was famously forced to return to freezing Texas after taking off for the warm environs of Cancún, Mexico.
FAA issues ground stop on arrivals at Philadelphia International Airport
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a weather-related ground stop on all flights coming into Philadelphia International Airport until 1 p.m. ET.
Flights are still taking off from the airport, where it was 29 degrees with light sleet at 11:45 a.m.
Traditional cold-weather cities finally see snow
While much of America spent this past weekend hunkered down and hiding from snow, traditional cold-weather cities from Washington, D.C., to New York skated free — until yesterday afternoon and this morning.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has received 4.1 inches since yesterday afternoon, while nearby Baltimore-Washington International Airport 4.9 had inches and Philadelphia International Airport recorded 3.3 inches.
And about 1.4 inches had fallen on New York City’s Central Park as of this morning.
After a weekend of wild football weather, back to normal cold
After a weekend during which weather played a key role in NFL playoff games, life on the gridiron should return to familiar frigid settings.
One of those football cold spots will be in Baltimore late Saturday afternoon when the top-seeded Ravens play host to the Houston Texans. The forecast high of 27 degrees with a wind chill of 18 that day will surely be uncomfortable but not unbearable like it was in Kansas City, where the Chiefs scored a wild-card win in the fourth most frigid game in NFL history.
The Buffalo Bills and Chiefs are set to battle early Sunday evening in Orchard Park, New York, where the high temperature that day is forecast to be 26 with a wind chill of 15. That cold will not include the blinding snow that recently blanketed western New York and forced the wild-card Pittsburgh Steelers-Bills game to be delayed by 27½ hours.
Almost 40 people treated for hypothermia in Fort Worth, Texas
At least 38 people, including a 15-year-old, have been treated for hypothermia in Texas since Friday, MedStar Mobile Healthcare said in a statement today.
One patient was found in serious condition Sunday. The oldest to receive treatment was 72. Most patients were picked up from a street or highway or from a public building, while three called for help from a residence.
The company said that under its extreme weather response protocol, patients in an “unprotected environment” get a quicker response when the “real feel” temperature drops below minus 20. The priority is to “get the patient out of the elements and into a warm ambulance as soon as possible,” the statement said.
Electric vehicles struggle to stay charged in Chicago
Electric car drivers were waiting in long lines to replenish their batteries in Chicago yesterday, as the severe cold snap appeared to limit their vehicles’ performance.
NBC Chicago reported that people were waiting for hours in the Evergreen Park neighborhood, some whose batteries had gone flat and needed a tow truck to get them to the nearest charging point. Some cars ran out of juice before they could even drive the few yards to the charging machine.
Some studies have suggested that electric cars are less effective and have a shorter range in extremely cold conditions, leading to a reduction of as much as 20%, according to a Norwegian study.
More than 1,000 flights canceled across the U.S.
Almost 1,300 flights had been canceled before 8:30 a.m. ET today as airports across the country struggle with snow and icy conditions. There are more than 11,000 delays, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.
Boston Logan International Airport is facing delays as it de-ices departing planes, while there are delays at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, which has received more than an inch of snow in the last 24 hours.
Baltimore-Washington International Airport ordered a ground stop this morning, while New York’s LaGuardia Airport ordered a ground delay because of snow and ice.
Firefighters rescue dog who fell into icy pond in Utah
A dog named Bob found himself stuck in an icy pond near the suburbs of Salt Lake City, but firefighters were able to lift the canine to safety. Officials used the opportunity to remind people to be extra careful with children and pets around ponds or other bodies of water this winter.
New York City gets its biggest snowfall in almost 2 years
New York City’s 701-day stretch without significant snowfall is over.
There was 1.4 inches on the ground in Central Park this morning, ending a snowless streak that goes back to February 2022, according to the weather service. More snow is expected today, making travel conditions hazardous.
“The streak has ended,” the agency said in a post on X after 7 a.m. ET.
The city issued a travel warning last night and urged residents to be careful and allow extra time to travel. Schools, however, remain open for the time being.
Lake-effect snow set to dump more than 2 feet on New York
More than 2 feet of lake-effect snow could land in the next two days east and northeast of Lakes Erie and Ontario, the weather service in Buffalo, New York, said early today.
Buffalo was experiencing light snow and temperatures of 15 degrees this morning but the wind chill factor could make it feel like minus 10 later today.
Deadly arctic blast grips more than 80% of the country
An arctic blast is gripping more than 80% of the country, killing at least seven nationwide. Some regions feel like minus 50 degrees. NBC’s Erin McLaughlin reports and the “TODAY” show’s Al Roker tracks the latest forecast.
Towns across Arkansas set new low temperature records
North Little Rock was among the towns and cities across Arkansas to set a new record for low temperature yesterday, as much of the South grapples with storms, freezing rain and wind chill.
North Little Rock reached 6 degrees Fahrenheit, beating the 11-degree record set in 1979, the weather service said.
The city of Mountain Home in the southern Ozark Mountains was even colder at minus 2, but this only tied its previous record, also set in 1979.
There’s still some way to beat the state’s all-time record low of minus 29, set in Gravette in 1905.
Texans asked to preserve energy during freezing conditions
People across Texas are being asked to conserve energy this morning during a winter storm that could affect the entire state.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said in a press release that people could restrict their electricity and gas usage between 6 and 9 a.m. to combat a renewed demand for energy.
The council suggests lowering the thermostat by a few degrees, not using large household appliances, such as washing machines, and turning off lights when not in use.
Snowboarding in Alabama
Ja’Vion Griffin rides the hill behind the University of North Alabama’s baseball field in Florence yesterday.
Winter storm warning for Maryland and Washington
A winter storm warning is in place across parts of Maryland, Washington, D.C., and northeast Virginia until 10 a.m. ET today.
Yesterday saw more than 1 inch of snow in Baltimore and Washington, the heaviest snowfall in the two cities in two years.
What are the risks of wind chill?
More than 140 million people are under wind chill warnings or advisories and are urged to take care and stay out of the wind. But why is it so dangerous?
Wind chill is when the cold weather is made to feel much colder by the wind. The more wind, the faster the body loses heat and the greater the chance of hypothermia or frostbite.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns that higher windspeeds can greatly increase risk.
With temperatures of minus 40 and winds of 5 mph, frostbite can occur in 10 minutes or less. When it is minus 20 but with wind speeds of 45 mph, frostbite can happen in 5 minutes or less. The wind chill value of both situations is minus 58 but one has much higher winds removing body heat at a much faster rate.
The NOAA advises people not to go out at all when wind chill is at minus 50 or below — but if it’s absolutely necessary, cover every body part, including fingers, the face and so on. People are advised to drink plenty of fluids, but to avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol because they constrict blood vessels.
Video shows bus slide on ice and crash into a fire hydrant in Philadelphia
Video shot in north Philadelphia shows a bus sliding on ice and crash into a fire hydrant as it tries to drive up a snowy road. No injuries were reported.
Fallen tree obliterates home in Oregon
An image released by the local fire department shows a severely damaged house after a tree fell because of severe weather in Lake Oswego, Oregon, yesterday.
Freezing weather closes schools across the country
Schools up and down the U.S. will be closed today after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday yesterday. Here is a list of the areas with full or partial closures.
In Chicago and Buffalo, New York, all classes and after-school activities are canceled amid temperatures as low as minus 30 with wind chill.
There are a range of closures across the South, including in: north Georgia; Houston; Dallas-Fort Worth; Nashville, Tennessee; east Texas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Alabama and Little Rock, Arkansas.
The U.S. is still freezing — and there’s more to come
Another day of snowstorms, warnings and subzero temperatures is set for communities across the lower-48, the National Weather Service said early today.
Wintry precipitation along both the East and the West Coasts coincides with “frigid Arctic air” over the central and southern parts of the country, it said. Potentially record-breaking cold temperatures are expected across the Rockies, the Great Plains and the Midwest today.
Wind chills taking the temperature to below minus 30 could extend into the South, reaching the Mississippi Valley. Almost 80% of the U.S. was experiencing subzero temperatures overnight.
The mid-Atlantic into New England has widespread winter warnings or advisories and between 2 and 4 inches of snow is possible in New York state.
Significant freezing rain is set for the Pacific Northwest, including Portland, with ice storm warnings in place — up to half an inch of ice could fall, the weather service said. Parts of the Cascade Mountains into the Rockies could see 15 to 28 inches of snow.
There might be a brief reprieve in the frigid winter weather from tomorrow, with below average but not brutally cold temperatures expected. but another arctic blast of cold air is expected Thursday into Friday, bringing yet more weather warnings in its wake.
State of emergency as U.S. faces arctic blast
Millions of Americans are still dealing with an arctic blast moving across the country. The storm system is already believed to have claimed 10 lives. Jesse Kirsch reports from Michigan.