Snow falls in Florida as winter storm hits East Coast of America
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The US East Coast faces freezing sub-zero temperatures after being battered by heavy snow storms as a bomb cyclone tore through the region.
Even as the winter storm faded, authorities warned that historically low temperatures were still to come. The harsh winter weather has led to widespread travel chaos as airports, roads and schools were forced to close.
Even Florida has not escaped the chill, with reports reaching us of frozen iguanas dropping from trees after being rendered immobile by the extraordinary cold.
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From Baltimore to Caribou, Maine, efforts were under way to clear roadways of ice and snow as wind chill temperatures were to plunge during the day, reaching -40 C (-40 F) in some parts after sundown, according to the National Weather Service.
The brutal cold was forecast to reach from New England across to the Midwest and down to the Carolinas, forecasters warned, adding that low-temperature records could be broken across the broad region in the coming days.
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Utility companies across the East worked to repair downed power lines early in the day as about 31,000 customers remained without electricity, down from almost 80,000 the day before, and issued warnings that temperatures may become dangerously low.
“If the temperature in your home begins to fall, we recommend taking shelter elsewhere until service can be restored,” National Grid power company, which serves Massachusetts, said on Twitter.
The storm, with winds gusts of more than 70 miles per hour (113 kph), dumped a foot (30 cm) or more of snow throughout the region, including Boston and parts New Jersey and Maine, where heavy snow continued to fall early on Friday.
The wintry weather has been blamed for at least 17 deaths in the past few days, including three in North Carolina traffic accidents and three in Texas because of the cold.
At least two more people have been confirmed dead as a result of the snow blanketing much of the East Coast.
A 75-year-old private contractor was hit and killed by a snowplow while shoveling snow from a parking lot in southeast Virginia, police said. The Virginia Department of Labour plans to conduct a followup investigation.
Elsewhere in Virginia, a girl was struck by a pickup truck while sledding down a driveway. The girl was rushed to a hospital and died as a result of her injuries, authorities said.
At least a dozen other people have died this week as a result of harsh conditions across the country.
The Weather Channel is predicting another winter storm on the heels of Winter Storm Grayson in the next several days. The system is expected to start on the West Coast on Friday and bring snow and sleet to the East Coast by Monday.
The storm will strike states like Idaho and Montana with possible freezing rain on Saturday, before bringing snow to the Great Lakes region on Sunday. Southern states can expect rain – and possibly thunderstorms – on Sunday night.
By Monday, snow could fall from Indiana all the way to the northern tip of New England.
Flights have resumed at major East Coast airports after heavy snow shuttered many of them on Thursday.
New York's JFK tweeted that service had resumed, but urged travellers to check with their airline before showing up for their flight. There were nearly 150 flight delays and 300 cancellations at the airport by Friday morning, according to FlightAware.
LaGuardia Airport, also in New York, asked that only those with confirmed flights come to the airport on Friday. The airport had cancelled more than 200 flights by that morning.
Bradley International Airport in Boston tweeted that they were "open and operating," but still experiencing numerous delays and cancellations due to the weather.
Hundreds of sea turtles are floating aimlessly in the water off the Gulf Coast after being "cold stunned".
Temperatures dropped below freezing this week in Gulf County, Florida,where volunteers worked to rescue turtles rendered immobile by the cold.
"When the water temperatures drop too much, our resident population of juvenile turtles – some adults, even – are stunned," Florida Coastal Conservancy Volunteer Coordinator Jessica Swindall told WJHG.
She added: "[The turtles] can't utilize their muscles at all, so they can't swim, they can't lift their heads to breathe."
Volunteer groups like Ms Swindall's gathered the turtles, cleaned them, marked them, and sent them to Gulf World Marine Institute and Park in Panama City for rehabilitation.
Gulf World representatives said they had taken in nearly 200 turtles by Thursday night, and expected at least 300 by the end of the week.
Boston has broken its record for highest-ever recorded tide, thanks to surges from Thursday's winter storm.
The tide reached 15.16 feet on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. That narrowly breaks the record of 15.1 feet set during the Blizzard of 1978.
The high tides caused flooding in some parts of the city.
An "arctic outbreak" could set record low temperatures in some parts of the US, the National Weather Service has warned.
The mercury could dip below -20F (-29C) in some places this weekend, according to the weather service. Temperatures are expected to range from 20F to 30F degrees below average across the north-eastern US.
"The cold weather we’ve seen all week continues today and this weekend," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted. "Wind chill will make it feel like -10 to -20. Stay warm, keep an eye out for neighbors, and bring pets inside."
At least five pet dogs died as a result of the harsh weather this week, according to local news sources. One died of cold exposure after being left overnight in an outdoor dog house in Virginia. Another died after being abandoned in a crate in the woods in Indiana.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) circulated tips for keeping animals safe in the cold, including:
Taking animals inside, and putting sweaters on short-haired pets
Giving dogs left outside proper shelter, like a wooden doghouse raised several inches off the ground
Increasing animals' food rations to give them more calories to keep warm
Cleaning off pets' paws, legs, and stomachs when they come inside, to rid them of potentially dangerous chemicals used to melt snow
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