A snowstorm causes eight deaths and cut off power to more than 370,000 homes.
The intense ice storm sweeping the south is expected to dissipate Thursday, but not before leaving chaos in its wake. At least eight people are suspected of dying, and more than 370,000 utility customers remain without power.
"The epic ice storm will end across part of the southern United States on Thursday," the National Weather Service said. "A tracking system near the Gulf Coast will clear up the frigid chaos while also producing heavy rain and possibly a severe thunderstorm for the Gulf Coast states," it added.
The weather service warned that hazardous travel conditions are still expected, with an additional glaze of ice buildup and a chance of light frost buildup. She added that damage to trees and other power outages as possible before the snow began to melt.
As of Wednesday, at least eight deaths have been linked to the storm, which battered parts of the South from Texas to Tennessee. Seven of those fatalities were in Texas, while a person driving a truck died in Benton County, Arkansas after it slid into an icy patch and hit a pole.
Meanwhile, more than 370,000 customers across Texas were without power as of early Thursday, according to the outage tracking website PowerOutage.us.
"Ice and tree limbs are still breaking off while our linemen work on restoration," utility provider Austin Energy tweeted on Wednesday. As of early Thursday, the company had more than 154,700 customers without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
The utility company said some areas may have no power until Friday and noted that restoration efforts are also being hampered by ice buildup and freezing temperatures.
US flight cancellations also appear to have dwindled after hundreds of flights were canceled this week due to severe weather.
As of early Thursday, just under 670 flights within, to, and from the United States had been canceled, according to online flight tracker FlightAware. At least 257 of those cancellations were related to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, while 48 were listed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. According to FlightAware, there have been just under 30 cancellations at Dallas Love Field.
As the severe storm system exits over the southeast, the weather service said, there will likely be steady rain Thursday from the lower Mississippi Valley to the southeast, creating the potential for isolated flooding.
She added that "the next wave of Arctic air to sweep the nation from Canada is expected to affect the northern plains and upper Midwest" on Thursday. The report warned that wind chills could become "dangerously cold" and that area with new snow cover could also experience brief white conditions due to the high winds associated with the arctic front.
She added that cold temperatures are expected to engulf the "northeast and north-central Atlantic" by Friday. The hardcore is expected to pass over the Northeast, specifically northern New England, which could bring the coldest weather in decades.
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