BELZONI, Mississippi, USA — This Friday, dozens of thousands of people face their sixth day without electricityas the Carolinas and Virginia prepared for a major winter storm that could generate more snow than some parts of North Carolina have seen in years.
He National Weather Service reported that the arctic air moving towards the southeast of the country will cause temperatures, which are already low, to drop to -10º Celsius on Friday night in cities such as Nashville, Tennesseewhere many people were still without power nearly a week after an intense storm covered the eastern United States with snow and ice.
Thousands of families and businesses without electricity
🥶 NORTH CAROLINA PREPARES: Fayetteville, North Carolina is readying for heavy snow and impacts from a major winter storm set to hit the Southeast this weekend. Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin joins FOX Weather to talk about the city’s preparations ahead of the storm. pic.twitter.com/8ss1FFXzDR
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) January 30, 2026
More than 230,000 homes and businesses were without power Friday morning. The vast majority of those outages occurred in Mississippi and Tennessee, according to the power outage tracking website poweroutage.us.
Heavy snowfall predicted
Forecasters say low temperatures will persist in the eastern United States into February, and there is a high chance of heavy snowfall in the Carolinas, Virginia and northeast Georgia this weekend, possibly up to a foot in several areas of North Carolina. Snow is also possible on the East Coast from Maryland to Maine.
For Saturday night and early Sunday, forecasters expect strong winds accompanied by moderate to heavy snow that could lead to blizzard conditions for a time before the storm begins to move out to sea Sunday morning.
15 cm of snow predicted in South Carolina
INTERACTIVE RADAR Track this weekend’s snowstorm as it moves across the Carolinas: https://t.co/SVnsRGw8kk pic.twitter.com/fkZJ94GrWm
— WBTV News (@WBTV_News) January 30, 2026
In Myrtle Beach, South Carolinaa coastal city more accustomed to hurricanes, traffic jams and tourists, the National Weather Service 15 centimeters of snow has been predicted.
The city does not have snow removal equipment. In his place, the newly sworn-in mayor of Myrtle Beach, Mark Krueasaid they will use “whatever we can find,” maybe a grader or an excavator to clear snow from the streets. “With a hurricane, you can protect a lot of things,” Kruea said Friday. “But in a place like this, there are few things you can do to prepare for the snow.”
Dangerous cold wave
A State of Emergency is in place for all areas of Dare County due to an impactful winter storm. Now is the time to finalize preparations—secure food, medications and supplies, and protect pets and property.
Read more: https://t.co/NZLLIJEogk pic.twitter.com/gXdzesk309
— Dare County (@DareCountyGovt) January 30, 2026
with another dangerous cold wave Heading to the southern United States on Friday, experts say the risk of hypothermia increases for people in parts of Mississippi and Tennessee as they begin their sixth day trapped at home without power and in subfreezing temperatures.
“The longer you are exposed to the cold, the worse it is,” said Dr. Hans House, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Iowa. “The body can handle low temperatures very well for a short period of time, but prolonged exposure is a problem.”
The most vulnerable people — the elderly, babies and people with existing health problems — may have begun to experience symptoms of hypothermia within hours of being exposed to the frigid temperatures, the doctor explained. Zheng Ben Mamedical director of the northwest emergency department Medical Center of the University of Washington. Symptoms range from exhaustion to slurred speech and memory loss.
But almost a week later, the situation is approaching a tipping point, he explained: Young people, who are normally healthy, could begin to suffer these symptoms as well.
“Once you get to the sixth, seventh or tenth day, even a healthy and resilient person will be more predisposed to experience some of the detrimental effects of low temperatures,” he added.
Mississippi authorities maintain that it is the worst winter storm in the state since 1994. Around 80 shelters were set up throughout the territory, known as one of the poorest states in the country. He governor of mississippi, Tate Reevessaid that the soldiers of the National guard They distributed food rations, blankets and other supplies in trucks and helicopters.
In Tennesseehe Governor Bill Lee He noted that the crews had distributed more than 600 units of heating material and more than 8,328 liters of gasoline and diesel.
Nashville residents in more than 70,000 homes and businesses without power were bracing for a frigid weekend, as criticism grew over the local utility’s handling of preparedness and recovery. Nashville Electric Service He has defended his approach, saying it was an unprecedented storm. At its peak, around half of its customers in and near the capital were left without power.
Up to 80 deaths reported due to the intense cold
🌨️ At least 85 people dead, 184 million under freezing alerts from Minnesota to Florida, 200,000+ without power.
Trump can’t save his own people from a snowstorm but thinks he can “liberate” Iran. pic.twitter.com/EBRxVnrwTy
— Syed Zafar Mehdi (@mehdizafar) January 30, 2026
More than 80 personas have died in areas affected by the intense cold from Texas to New Jersey. About half of the deaths were reported in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. While some deaths have been attributed to hypothermia, others are suspected to be related to carbon monoxide exposure.
Abhi Mehrotraemergency physician University of North Carolina in Chapel Hillsaid it is important to check that heat sources used indoors, including generators, do not emit carbon monoxide, which could be lethal.
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