As a result of severe storms in the central and eastern United States, at least 14 people have died. Areas were struck by tornadoes, high winds, and freezing weather. The National Weather Service noted that a winter storm is bringing a "remarkable cold", which is expected to cause temperatures to drop in Montana and North Dakota to -60 degrees Fahrenheit (-51 degrees Celsius).
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear stated on Monday on social media: "I have another serious update. The number of dead in Kentucky is now at 12," compared to the eight fatalities the previous day. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey reported that one person died in his state as a result of the weather and warned that "many people are still being counted as missing." Also, at least one person died in the Atlanta area of Georgia.
Speaking about the incident, the head of the Scott Fire Department said to local media that the victim died from a fall of "an enormous" tree on his home in the early hours of Sunday. According to Beshear, most of the dead in Kentucky drowned while trapped in their vehicles due to unexpected rising floodwaters, which were rapidly rising. He added that among the victims were a mother and her child.
Authorities urged residents to stay away from roads across the entire state, where local and federal agencies declared a state of emergency. According to Beshear, rescue services rescued more than a thousand people in the last 24 hours. In his Monday briefing, the National Safety Board noted that "it is expected that a strong cold polar mass will continue to influence the central and northern states of the U.S., also extending to the south and east over the coming days."
On Monday, electricity was restored to thousands of homes, but more than 50,000 homes remained without power in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, according to the monitoring site PowerOutage.US.
