According to the Associated Press, at least 85 people lost their lives due to the cold weather over the past week in the central and eastern part of the country. Majority of the deaths were in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. As of Thursday evening, 79,000 homes are still without power.
Nevada has seen 17 deaths due to the cold over the past 30 years. No cold weather-related deaths were recorded in 2024, but one occurred in 2023. Two cold weather-related deaths occurred in 2019. Three people lost their lives because of the cold in Nevada in 2011 and 2005.
While it will be nice and mild along the west coast this weekend, it will be frigid over the East Coast, and back off towards the Midwest. The coldest spots on Friday are around the Great Lakes, but the cold air extends south into the places like Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia over the weekend.
Photo by NASA
Areas around Virginia could even see temperatures running between 35 to 40 degrees below average on Saturday. The forecasted high in Dallas on Saturday is only 34 degrees. Reno is expected to reach the lower 60’s this weekend. Atlanta is forecasted to be in the upper 20’s on Saturday with lows Sunday morning falling into the teens.
Heat is the number one weather related killer in the United States, based on thirty-year averages between 1995-2024. Cold weather accounts for 38 deaths per year while heat accounts for 238 on average. Floods account for 113 deaths, according to the thirty-year average. It is uncommon for the southeast to reach the teens, even at night.
