Winter storms leave 89 dead across US as chill settles over Great Lakes and Northeast

A downed power line killed three people and injured a two-year-old in Portland, Oregon.

Rescuers responded to reports of the downed line Wednesday morning, the Portland Fire and Rescue spokesperson Rick Graves told Oregon Live. Officials found three people and a child on the ground outside of a car when they arrived, the outlet reported.

A fallen branch hit the powerline and sent it crashing into the car, Mr Graves told Oregon Live.

In a rare event, ground temperatures in the interior of North America were similar to cloud top temperatures, according to Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University.

That rarity came amid a blast of arctic air in the Pacific Northwest and midwest earlier this week.

Officials across the US have reported at least 27 weather-related deaths in recent days as arctic temperatures and heavy snow blow across the nation.

In Portland, Oregon, hyopthermia from the arctic cold and downed trees have killed at least eight people, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. A downed power line also killed three people and injured a two-year-old in Portland, according to Oregon Live.

And in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, three homeless men have been found dead with suspected hypothermia in the freezing cold streets.

Once wind chills hit below -25F (-31C) — as they did in several states across the country this week — hypothermia can occur within just 15 minutes, according to the National Weather Service.

Meanwhile, seven people are dead in Tennessee after extreme winter weather hit the state earlier this week, The Tennesseeanreports.

Driving has also proven particularly dangerous throughout the country.

One man in White County, Arkansas died after crossing the centre lane while driving and crashing into a tree on Sunday, according to police records. Roads throughout the state were unsafe at the time due to snow and ice. Officials in Mississippi said that one person had died while driving on Highway 49 just south of Silver City at around 8 pm local time on Sunday.

Three storm-related deaths were also reported in Erie County, New York, officials told local outlet WIVB. A 64-year-old man died while shovelling snow, while a 57-year-old woman was found dead near her snowblower. A third man died following a hit-and-run car crash on Monday.

Meanwhile, a skier was killed by a 50-foot avalanche in Wyoming on Tuesday, CBS News reports, while the state was facing -40F (-40C) wind chills and winter weather advisories. This also marked the third avalanche-related death in the western US this year.

An arctic storm hit Portland, Oregon earlier this week, putting the city underneath a quarter-inch of ice. More than 60,000 people in the state are without power as of Wednesday evening, according to PowerOutage.us, and at least eight people have died under weather-related circumstances in the state.

Winter Storm Indigo, which just hit the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, will now track snow and ice across the US, The Weather Channel reports.

As it moves, the storm could produce snowfall in the midwest and northeast beginning Thursday. The south may see snow and freezing rain as well, The Weather Channel forecasts.

East coast residents from Washington, DC to New York can also expect a few more inches of snow once Indigo reaches them on Thursday evening into Friday.

Wednesday brought a brief reprieve from arctic temperatures before meteorologists predict their return on Thursday.

The National Weather Service has warned that the Northern and Central Plains could experience below-average temperatures from Thursday as the Arctic Blast moves southwards. The cold front will then move into the Southern US on Friday, the weather service added.

It will follow a warmer day in southern Texas and along the Gulf Coast today where temperatures will return to the 60s and 70s by Thursday.

“Although this surge of Arctic air does not look quite as extreme as the first, bitterly cold temperatures are still possible portions the Central Plains this weekend,” the NWS said.

Stunning satellite footage from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University shows lake effect clouds forming over Lake Michigan on Tuesday.

Lake-effect snow falls when cold air from Canada moves across the Great Lakes, forming clouds that can produce two to three inches of snow per hour. Yesterday’s clouds, pictured in the satellite footage, blew over parts of Michigan and western New York, bringing several inches of snow to the region.

Parts of New York — including New York City — and Connecticut could see up to 5 inches of snow Friday, per the National Weather Service (NWS).

1-3 inches of snow are likely, while 4-5 inches is the reasonable worst-case scenario, according to NWS officials.

Meanwhile, another arctic blast will hit the region over the weekend, bringing possible sub-zero wind chill temperatures. Under those conditions, the NWS warns frostbite could occur within just 30 minutes.

Amid flooding, snow and freezing rain across the US, treacherous weather in Maine brought a rare glimpse of a 112-year-old shipwreck at Acadia National Park.

The two-masted sailing schooner named “Tay” ran aground on Mount Desert Island in July 1911 when it struck a ledge during a storm, resulting in the death of the ship’s cook, according to an article in the Bar Harbor Record at the time.

The Tay quickly broke into pieces and a large portion of the ship’s cargo was washed ashore by the waves as its Captain I.W. Scott tried unsuccessfully to make it to harbor. But last week, following storms across the country, part of the shipwreck was brought to the surface, washing up on Mount Desert Island’s Sand Beach after being buried for decades.

Martha McHardy has more on the fascinating sight:

In a rare event, ground temperatures in the interior of North America were similar to cloud top temperatures, according to Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University.

That rarity came amid a blast of arctic air in the Pacific Northwest and midwest earlier this week.