The United States has already seen nearly 50 deaths from cold weather conditions in 2024 as the country braces for another arctic blast this weekend.
Approximately 95 million people are under winter weather warnings nationwide as of Friday, and 47 deaths have occurred since Jan. 12, according to NBC News. The death count is already higher than the total cold weather death toll in 2022, which saw 22 deaths total, according to Statista.
Tennessee has seen the highest death count from cold weather so far, with 16 deaths occurring in the state. Nine of the total deaths occurred in Oregon, six occurred in Illinois, five in Washington state and Mississippi, three in New York state, and one occurred in Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, respectively.
The majority of the Tennessee deaths occurred during a winter storm, which authorities reported had killed at least 14 people.
Three people died in Oregon on Wednesday after being electrocuted by a downed power line. The first person, a man, died when trying to get out of a parked car. The man had slipped on an icy driveway and landed on the wire, which killed him. The man’s girlfriend and her brother also died when trying to help.
The details on the five deaths in Washington state have not been released, but the cause of death was exposure to cold, according to the Hill. Seattle’s temperature is below freezing.
The deaths come as the Midwest and eastern U.S. prepare for another cold weekend, with temperatures in the 20s and 30s for Washington, D.C.
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“Another Arctic air outbreak is forecast across much of the central and eastern U.S. through this weekend,” the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center announced. “This event will not be as frigid as the last outbreak, however, temperatures and wind chills will still be hazardous across a large part of the region.”
Washington, D.C., and New York City saw their first glimpse of snow this week, marking the first major snowfall in the two eastern cities in nearly two years. Snow is expected to continue to fall in New York City throughout the weekend, while snow is only projected in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
