At Least 5 Dead as Cold Weather Rages Through Midwest
According to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, sub-zero air temperatures and even colder wind chills will carry through Tuesday
At least five people have died amid ongoing “dangerously cold temperatures,” as described by the National Weather Service, that have covered much of the U.S., including the Midwest, as of Monday.
NBC affiliate KGW reported that two people are dead in the Portland, Oregon, area following high winds that have knocked down trees. One person was killed in Southeast Portland when a tree toppled over a parked RV Saturday, per the outlet, while another person died after a tree fell on his home and crashed through the second floor.
According to the Portland Tribune, the Multnomah County Medical Examiner is investigating two deaths that are potentially linked to hypothermia. The newspaper reported that one man from Northeast Portland and another from North Portland were found dead Friday and Saturday respectively, with authorities believing they may have died from the cold temperatures.
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In Idaho, authorities reported that a skier died Friday after he was caught in an avalanche. The Shoshone County Sheriff's Office identified the victim whose body was recovered as Corey J. Zalewski and added that two other skiers, Landon E. Crecelius, and David R. Sittser, were later rescued. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Corey’s family as they are remembering the life of this great man,” the sheriff’s office said in their statement.
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According to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, sub-zero air temperatures and even colder wind chills will carry through Tuesday before another Arctic blast is due later in the week.
“This means one more day of frigid wind chills dipping below minus 30 across the Plains states, and minus 50 in Montana and the Dakotas,” said the NWS.
“Unfortunately,” the weather service added, “another surge of frigid Arctic air is expected to plunge southward out of Canada later this week, which could lead to more of the same dangerous cold weather across the Midwest and Deep South by the end of the work week.”
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The Des Moines Register reported that Sunday was the coldest day in Iowa in a number of years, with temps reaching over 20 degrees below zero in some parts of the Hawkeye State from the pre-dawn hours. The newspaper said that the cold is expected to last through the remainder of the week, with Tuesday being the warmest at 1 degree.
Meanwhile, the state of Minnesota is currently under a wind chill advisory or wind chill warning expected to last until noon Tuesday, CBS affiliate WCCO reported, adding that Monday’s high in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area will be 2 degrees below zero.
The NWS also said Monday that the frigid airmass is contributing to hazardous winter weather through much of the Southern U.S and Great Lakes. “Widespread moderate to locally major potential winter storm impacts today are expected across the Lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley as a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain fall before spreading into the Appalachians.”
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“By later today into tomorrow,” the weather service added, “snowfall is expected to reach the Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic, including Washington D.C, Philadelphia and New York. Regardless of how much falls, prepare for slippery road conditions beginning later today into tomorrow.”
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