Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday that at least five Kentuckians have died as a result of the storm after the state experienced wind gusts of more than 70 miles per hour and flash flooding. In Alabama, three people were killed by fallen trees, while storm-related deaths were also reported in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee, according to the Associated Press.
Officials have urged patience amid power outages. As of Saturday afternoon, more than 300,000 customers remained without power in Kentucky and Michigan, while tens of thousands more were battling blackouts in Tennessee, Ohio, and West Virginia, according to PowerOutage.us. .
Both Beshear and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg have declared states of emergency. Edward J. Meiman, executive director of emergency services in Louisville, said first responders were hit by a “tremendous” surge in calls for help on Friday, including several water rescues and fires. because of the storm.
The governor urged patience in the restoration of service, saying that some areas may be without power for days.
“This is significant widespread damage across Kentucky,” Beshear said at a news conference. “When it comes to power, it’s going to be a multiday event.”
As it moves east, the storm could drop up to 8 inches of snow in parts of the Northeast and northern New England by Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, which also warned of coastal flooding. That heavy snowfall is more likely in Maine and parts of New Hampshire, while the Boston area and further south face rain and a wintry mix.
More than 10 inches of snow fell in parts of the Detroit area, where service providers DTE and Consumers Energy already faced criticism for power outages in February, according to the Detroit Free Press. More than 3,000 workers for DTE are working on emergency repairs, the company said on its website.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport closed Friday, with local media reporting that up to 300 flights were canceled. The airport said on Twitter around midnight on Friday that it was resuming operations.
Tornado watches were issued for regions from eastern Kentucky to northern Georgia, and the Weather Service received more than 125 reports of damaging winds in the region. That comes amid record winter tornado activity over the past three months in the Deep South and central US, exacerbated by unusually warm winter temperatures.
The storm in the Northeast will be followed by an “unreasonably warm” period through Monday in early March, according to the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service is predicting “more settled” weather over the weekend for the Detroit area as well.
Another system in the Western United States continues to dump more snow on California, where several feet of snow are expected to fall in the Sierra Nevada mountains this week.
