At least 40 dead due to winter storms and cold in the United States

At least 40 people have died in winter storms across the United States in nine states since January 12. Deaths were recorded in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

In Tennessee, where the highest number of weather-related deaths have been reported so far, a box truck driver was killed Monday night when he lost control of the vehicle on a Knoxville highway and crashed into a trailer, said the police. Fourteen people have died in Tennessee due to severe weather, the state emergency management agency said Wednesday, citing the state health department.

Five people died in Pennsylvania when a minivan lost control on a snow-covered I-81, the Lackawanna County coroner's office said.

More snow is likely to accumulate from the Midwest to the East on Friday (19). In the South, winter weather advisories are also in effect for Nashville, Lexington and Charleston, West Virginia, on Thursday (18).

Freezing rain and wind battering the Pacific Northwest knocked out power to more than 85,000 homes and businesses in Oregon Wednesday morning amid frigid temperatures. By Wednesday night, power outages in Oregon had dropped below 50,000.

Icy roads, fallen trees and downed power lines created dangerous travel conditions that prompted road closures Tuesday night and Wednesday. A nearly 50-mile stretch of I-84 from west Portland to the east side of the Oregon Cascades was closed Tuesday night due to the threat of ice, according to the state transportation department. That portion remained closed Wednesday night due to dangerous conditions and it is unclear when it will reopen, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said.

Lake effect snow warnings are in effect through Thursday night in Buffalo, where additional snow accumulations of 9 to 18 inches are possible in some areas. The region could see 30 to 90 centimeters of localized snow and wind gusts of up to 62 km/h. More than a foot of snow fell south of Buffalo in Lackawanna, New York, on Wednesday morning.

“Traveling can be very difficult or impossible. Areas with gusts will significantly reduce visibility. Hazardous conditions will affect the morning commute,” the weather service warned. “Intense cold of up to 10 degrees below zero can result in hypothermia if precautions are not taken.”

Intense cold and snow are expected to return

The relief from the cold will be short-lived, with another mass of frigid air expected to arrive in the north-central US on Thursday night (18). The abnormal cold will hit much of the central and eastern US on Friday afternoon (19) and will remain throughout most of the weekend.

Wind chills in the central US will return to dangerous levels on Friday, increasing the risk of frostbite and hypothermia.

Another round of snow will spread across parts of the Midwest and East on Friday as two masses of atmospheric energy — one of which can be traced back to the Northwest storm — collide. The snow will begin as early as Thursday night (18) in Chicago and, by Friday morning, the accumulation of snow will extend into the interior of the Northeast and the central Appalachians.

Cities in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast that just ended record snow droughts caused by a storm earlier in the week, including Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia, will once again have a chance at light to moderate snow.

About 1 to 3 inches of snow is likely from the Midwest to the East, but some parts of the Appalachians could see totals closer to 6 inches when the snow ends Friday night.

Despite the low amount of snow, the combination of snow and strong winds can make travel complicated. Additional cancellations and delays are also possible, especially after schools and government offices were closed by the similarly impactful storm earlier in the week.

Double whammy of ice and snow in the Northwest

Back-to-back storms are delivering a deadly “1-2 blow” to the Northwest, with freezing rain and ice in Oregon and Washington and heavy snow across the region's interior through the end of the week, the weather service said.

At least seven people have died in the Portland, Oregon area since Friday due to severe winter weather. Four hypothermia deaths are being investigated in Multnomah County, which includes the city of Portland, county officials told CNN.

Millions of people in the region were under an ice storm warning Wednesday morning, including hard-hit Portland, after a new storm made landfall Tuesday night. As the severe weather threat persists, Portland Public Schools plans to close for a third day, the district announced.

Ice and wind combined to topple trees in the Portland area with deadly effect. A tree fell on an elderly man sleeping on the second floor of his home, killing him, in Lake Oswego, Oregon, firefighter Gert Zoutendijk told CNN.

“I don’t have enough words to describe what it was like,” Lake Oswego Police Chief George Burke said during an emergency city council meeting Tuesday.

Winter storm warnings also extend to the Cascades and northern Rockies. Up to 3 feet of snow could fall over the Cascades by Thursday afternoon and up to 2 feet is possible in higher elevation areas in northern parts of Washington, Idaho and Montana on Thursday.