Millions of people are still without electricity, hundreds of flights were canceled and the death toll rose due to a major winter storm spanning from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic that produced deep snow record-breaking cold temperatures.
The storm hit Texas hard, a state which rarely sees extreme cold and snow, resulting in more than 4 million people in the state to lose power on Tuesday. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a news conference that 1.3 million people were without power in the Houston region. In Fort Worth, about 100,000 people were told to boil their water after a treatment plant lost power. Those who could not boil water were encouraged to use bottled water. Officials are working to set up water bottle distribution centers. Freezing rain made travel dangerous, as nearly an inch of ice was measured in Frenchburg, Ky. — more than triple the amount needed to weigh down branches and power lines.
More than two dozen people have died so far, mostly in Texas, in weather-related incidents since last week. The winter storm has led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights, including those from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
