Portland officials are investigating the suspected death due to hypothermia
Mignon Burke
At least one person in Portland, Oregon, is believed to have died due to dangerously low temperatures, officials said.
The person, who has not been identified, died today, the Multnomah County Medical Examiner Program said in a news release. The Medical Examiner's Office is investigating the matter as a suspected death due to hypothermia.
“Investigators say confirmation will not be completed for several weeks or months,” the office said. “No further details are being released at this time.”
More than 456,000 customers across the United States are without power
Mignon Burke
Madison Lambert
More than 456,000 customers were without power across the United States. As of 4 p.m., Michigan had the highest number of power outages at 155,054, according to poweroutage.us.
Oregon was at 126,435 customers and Wisconsin was at 71,184 customers living without power.
In Pennsylvania, nearly 30,000 customers were in the dark. New York, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and New Hampshire also experienced major power outages.
A travel ban has been issued in Erie County, New York
Madison Lambert
State Governor Kathy Hochul said in a press conference today that travel in Western New York is expected to be “impossible and dangerous” once the storm arrives, and she urged residents to stay home.
In Erie County, a complete travel ban on passenger vehicles is in effect starting at 9 p.m. ET. The governor's office said the ban will be re-evaluated on Sunday at 6 a.m.
“Forecasts predict the most dangerous winter storm conditions since the Christmas Blizzard of 2022,” Governor Hochul said in a statement. “Working closely with county and city leaders, we have implemented a 9:00 p.m. travel ban, which goes into effect tonight to keep motorists safe.”
Commercial traffic is also prohibited on all state, county and local roads in Erie County and on New York State Road. This ban will remain in effect indefinitely, according to the governor.
Thousands of flights canceled across the United States
Mignon Burke
Courtney Brueghel
More than 1,100 flights in, from or to the United States were canceled on Saturday, according to FlightAware.
Delays were even higher, totaling 3,564.
The Federal Aviation Administration urged travelers to check with their airlines before heading to the airport.
“Storms across the United States continue to cause cancellations and delays tonight and tomorrow,” the FAA said in a post on its website. X.
The Iowa State Patrol received calls for 86 incidents
Mignon Burke
The Iowa State Patrol received calls about 86 crashes between 12:30 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, the agency said in a post on its website. X.
During the same time period, there were 71 property damage claims and 15 personal injury claims.
More than 70 people were evacuated after a frozen sprinkler at an Arizona assisted living facility caused a water leak
Mignon Burke
More than 70 people at a nursing facility in Arizona had to be evacuated after a water leak caused by a frozen sprinkler caused drywall to collapse, officials said.
The leak occurred on the third floor of the Ativo Senior Living hotel in Prescott Valley, the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority said in a post on its website. X. All three floors of the facility were severely damaged.
The fire department reported that 42 residents were displaced. The fire department said no one was injured.
Insight Living, which owns and manages the building, told Fox 10 Phoenix that the freezing sprinkler was caused by the freezing temperatures.
Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers game postponed
Mignon Burke
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers has been postponed until Monday at 4:30 p.m.
“I have been in contact with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell regarding the dangerous conditions in Buffalo this weekend,” she said in a Twitter post. X.
“In consultation with our emergency response teams, @BuffaloBills leadership, and the NFL, the Bills game will be postponed to 4:30 PM on Monday,” the governor said.
Read more here.
“Extremely cold” temperatures hit Billings, Montana, setting a new record
Mignon Burke
The National Weather Service in Billings, Montana, said “extremely cold” temperatures fell to minus 25 degrees at midnight, breaking a record daily low set on January 13, 1997, when the temperature was minus 22 degrees. Post on X.
The meteorological agency said this was the first time since 1997 that the city had recorded a record daily low in January.
The Grand Rapids, Michigan area is also expected to experience extreme cold. Temperatures will gradually drop throughout the weekend, with highs in the single digits and teens, the local National Weather Service said. According to the weather agency, lows will be in the single digits above and below zero through at least Wednesday.
Dangerously cold winds are blowing, and heavy snow is expected
Layla Sakour
The National Weather Service warned that sub-zero wind chills, freezing rain and heavy snow will affect areas across the United States this weekend from west to south, saying conditions will continue into next week.
Parts of the Midwest will see “near-record, dangerously low temperatures and wind chills” with subzero conditions extending into the Deep South by late next week, the service added.
She added that heavy snow would make travel “slight to impossible” from Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and Utah, including urban areas of Portland, Boise and Salt Lake City, warning of damage to trees and power lines in Oregon due to the freezing rain.
Wind temperatures are expected to reach 65 degrees below zero from Montana to the western Dakotas, and conditions are expected to remain between 40 below zero and 60 below zero through Wednesday.
Rescuers recover skier's body after avalanche in Idaho
Dennis Romero
Rescuers recovered the body of a man believed to have been killed in yesterday's avalanche in Idaho this afternoon and have been identified, the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
The man, who was part of a group of three skiers caught in the avalanche near Stephen Peak yesterday afternoon, was identified today as Corey J. Zalewski, she said. Deputies found the other two people after a Garmin GPS alerted authorities that they were in trouble, the office said.
She added that these two survived and are recovering. Deputies and members of the U.S. Air Force, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Silver Valley Search and Rescue and Silver Mountain Ski Patrol were part of the search.
Stephen's Peak reaches 7,000 feet near Idaho's border with Montana. It is very popular among hikers, skiers and climbers.
A 66-year-old man died in an avalanche in Tahoe, California, on Wednesday.
