ST. LOUIS — Brutally cold weather could prove a deadly challenge Saturday amid an ongoing wave of Arctic storms that has battered much of the country with blinding snow, freezing rain and whipping winds.
Governors from New York to Louisiana declared states of emergency ahead of predicted snow and frigid temperatures. In St. Louis, the National Weather Service warned of rare and “life-threatening” cold.
The fierce weather disrupted campaign schedules in Iowa, the Republican Party’s leading caucus state. With a blizzard warning in effect for most of the state, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump have all shuffled their schedules ahead of Monday’s presidential election.
Near-record cold in Kansas City will make for a frigid NFL playoff game on Saturday night when the Chiefs host Miami. Fans are allowed to bring blankets and first aid stations have been set up at Arrowhead Stadium. On Sunday, fans in Buffalo will face up to a foot of snow and heavy winds when the Bills host Pittsburgh.
The National Weather Service warned Friday that a powerful storm would shake the Midwest all the way to the Great Lakes throughout Saturday with heavy snow, high winds and blizzard conditions. Dangerously frigid weather would follow in the Rockies and Plains, while heavy rains in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic would threaten river and coastal flooding.
Some areas in the northeast suffered from flooding. Emergency workers helped evacuate some residents from their homes in Paterson, New Jersey, early Friday as the Passaic River began to overflow its banks. The new storm, combined with one earlier this week, also raised concerns about flooding in Maine and New Hampshire.
It was minus 11 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 24 degrees Celsius) in Bismarck, North Dakota, Friday morning, and forecasters warned that weekend temperatures could reach 20 degrees below F (minus 29 degrees Celsius) early Sunday.
Black ice caused by freezing rain caused wrecks and brought Kansas City, Missouri, to a standstill.
At the Double Cross Cattle Company, a ranch south of Roberts, Montana, Tyson Ropp used an ax Friday morning to cut inches of ice through a trough so his bulls could reach their water.
“It’s just Montana,” he added with a shrug.
But the weather won’t spare any part of the country this weekend, forecasters say.
In the county that includes Portland, Oregon, which is more accustomed to winter rain than ice and snow, officials declared a state of emergency and opened shelters for the homeless during severe weather. The provincial and nonprofit organizations distributed thousands of coats, gloves, ponchos and other items this week.
California warned of high avalanche danger for parts of the Sierra Nevada, including the Lake Tahoe area, where one man was killed in an avalanche at a ski resort on Wednesday. The same was true in Idaho, where a man was believed killed in an avalanche on Thursday.
“EVERY state in the U.S. has an active NWS warning, warning or advisory,” the National Weather Service announced Friday as it posted a color-coded map showing parts of states threatened by storms, wind, flooding, snowstorms and avalanches.
Chicago expected several inches of snow throughout the weekend, with winds up to 50 miles per hour and wind chills as low as minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit, which could cause frostbite on exposed skin in just 15 minutes. minutes, the weather service warned.
Authorities said a suburban Chicago man had died from exposure, apparently the first cold-related death of the season. The man, whose identity was not released, was found Thursday in suburban Schiller Park, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
Advocates are concerned about the growing population of migrants being sent to Chicago from the U.S.-Mexico border — more than 26,000 have arrived since last year. On Friday, dozens of people stayed in eight parked “warming buses” to avoid sleeping outside while they waited for a spot in city-run shelters.
Angelo Travieso, a Venezuelan who arrived by bus from Texas, wore a light jacket and sandals with socks after sleeping on one of the buses.
“I slept sitting up because there was almost no room left,” he said. “The buses are also small and you practically have to stay inside because of the heating, because it is deadly cold outside.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker released a letter Friday pleading with Texas Governor Greg Abbott to stop sending migrants to Chicago during the dangerous weather.
“At least interrupt these transports to save lives,” the letter said.
In a response, Abbott declined to stop what he called “voluntary” travel “until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border.”
The South was not immune to the wrath of winter. Severe storms with winds of up to 70 miles per hour stretched across Mississippi on Friday.
The governors of Arkansas and Louisiana declared states of emergency on Friday in anticipation of stormy and frigid weather that will see temperatures in New Orleans drop below freezing next week.
Abbott, meanwhile, urged Texans to prepare for a cold snap with ice on the road Monday.