Winter Storm Fern Wreaks Havoc Across US, Plunges Temps to Record Lows

Nearly 1 in 4 Americans, roughly a quarter of people in the US, face extreme cold alerts this week after Winter Storm Fern. It barreled across the nation over the weekend. The storm left at least 29 people dead, according to The Associated Press. It cut off power for over 800,000 users. And it disrupted travel for tens of millions of people.

The storm swept from the Central Plains across the southern and mid-Atlantic states. It also traveled into the Northeast and New England. It dumped deep snow and scattered thick ice, especially in the Deep South. The storm brought hazardous road conditions across the region. 

The storm left a trail of death and destruction from Texas to Massachusetts. It felled trees. It downed power lines. It forced school and business closings. It shut down over 12,000 flights. It also left hundreds of thousands of people in the dark. Two teenagers lost their lives in sledding accidents. One teen was in Texas. The other was in Arkansas. Two men also died of hypothermia in Louisiana. A 51-year-old Massachusetts woman was killed and her husband was injured when a snow plow backed into the couple. Deaths linked to the storm also occurred in Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Kansas, and Tennessee.  

The death toll is expected to rise. Seven people were found dead outside in New York City. Seven others perished when their private jet crashed in Bangor, Maine. The precise causes of these fatalities are under investigation. 

Fern spread frigid cold Arctic air across the continent. It's expected to blanket the central and eastern US with extremely low temperatures throughout the week. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Fayetteville, Arkansas, thermometers plunged to a record 0 degrees and -9 degrees Fahrenheit respectively on Monday. Meanwhile, new records were met or broken in 21 cities the previous day. That included a bone-chilling 25-below-0 temp recorded in Alliance, Nebraska.

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 Photo of New York City after weekend snowstorm from Reuters.