Sunday, 29 Sep 2024

Scenes From a Record Winter Freeze Overwhelming the U.S.

At least 38 people have died nationwide during days of frigid winter storms that have left many roads impassable, disrupted vaccine distribution and blanketed nearly three-quarters of the continental United States in snow.

The worst damage was in Texas, where the storm overwhelmed the power grid, causing rolling blackouts and problems with the water supply. By Thursday evening, about 347,000 people in the state were still without power; some had lacked it for days.

Thursday, Feb. 18

Vic and Al’s, a Cajun restaurant in Austin, Texas, distributed free jambalaya to the community.

A crew worked to repair a utility pole in Austin.

Distributing clean water in Fort Worth.

Ben Lozano cleaned his garage after a water pipe burst behind his washing machine in Austin.

Vehicles at a standstill on Interstate 35 in Killeen, Texas.

Empty shelves in a San Antonio store once held water bottles.

Selling firewood in Abilene, Texas.

Residents in Dallas and many other parts of Texas were still experiencing power outages.

Amos Washington Jr., who has been homeless for the past eight months after his home burned down, retrieved supplies from his tent before going back to a warming shelter in Oklahoma City.

Cars waited in the snow to fill up propane tanks in southeast San Antonio.

People waited to enter a grocery store in Houston.

A commuter stuck in the snow in Dallas.

Melvin Torry helped his neighbors try to turn off their water after a back spigot broke in Houston.

Fallen tree limbs in Austin.

Wednesday, Feb. 17

A hotel in San Antonio, which was housing guests looking for a reprieve from the cold, lost power on Wednesday. Many members of the front-of-house and housekeeping staff decided to stay at the hotel to make sure families had the resources they needed through the blackouts.

St. David’s South Austin Medical Center evacuated and released patients from its hospital after losing water pressure and heat on Wednesday.

Snow and ice in Waco, Texas.

Ron Nirenberg, mayor of San Antonio, held a virtual conference with members of the City Council and representatives from the San Antonio Water System and CPS Energy to speak about logistics and planning for upcoming days related to the snowstorm and blackouts.

Taking shelter inside the Grace Church Plano warming center on Wednesday.

Gilberto Estevez cut up a tree that fell outside of a home in Austin, Texas.

Nathan Halaney and Katherine Pena helped their neighbor, Brenda Davis, center, past emergency personnel responding to a fire in her neighborhood in Austin. Ms. Davis and her husband left their home Wednesday morning after being without power for over two days, and she was returning briefly to gather belongings.

Marissa Chavez, 15, warmed up with a space heater in the Denver Heights neighborhood of San Antonio. While the power returned to her home on Wednesday, the water was still not working.

Workers at Mighty Wash carwash shoveling snow and ice in Odessa, Texas.

Dunia Perez and her family had no electricity, water or charged cellphones for four days. They are from Guatemala and had never experienced temperatures like the ones they felt this week. At one point, the family brought a grill inside to cook. “With the kids, this is really hard,” she said. The Perez family knew it was dangerous to bring the grill indoors, but did so briefly when debris was falling from their neighbor’s balcony.

Empty shelves at a gas station in San Antonio.

Misty Woods sitting at the Y.M.C.A. center, a warming station in Richardson, Texas. She has been without power for three days.

“They told us to leave the tap running, but all of a sudden the water ceased,” Joan Chukwu said. While she and her family now have some electricity, they no longer have running water, and have been melting snow to be able to flush toilets.

A couple walked through their Austin apartment complex in search of running water on Wednesday. Their electricity was restored, but their home still had no water.

Morgan Noland and Taylor Kimmel shoveling snow in Tulsa, Okla.

Workers cut tree branches away from power lines in Huntington, W.Va.

People waited in freezing weather to fill propane tanks in Houston.

Skye Corley pushed a shopping cart with supplies through slush and snow in Austin. Her family has been without power for four days.

Workers helped Dori Ann Upchurch into a warming station at University Avenue Church of Christ in Austin. She evacuated her home after she lost her water supply.

Taylor Brown woke up on Wednesday after spending the night inside a Gallery Furniture store in Houston, which opened as a shelter for those in need of food, water and heat.

Tuesday, Feb. 16

People charged their cellphones and warmed up inside a vehicle in Austin on Tuesday night.

The Khidre family from Pflugerville, Texas, has been staying at a hotel since their power and water shut off Sunday night.

Camilla Swindle, 19, rested in a shopping cart as she and her boyfriend waited to enter a grocery store in Austin, Texas.

A man seeking shelter from freezing temperatures prepared his cot at a warming shelter in Travis Park Church in San Antonio.

Ivan Gonzales, left, and his brother-in-law Gabriel Martinez helped a driver up a hill in Austin.

Maria Patterson breastfeeding her 16-month-old daughter at her Austin home, which hasn’t had power since Sunday night.

Gallery Furniture store in Houston offered shelter and warm clothing.

Flamingos experienced an unusual climate in Austin.

Jorge Benitez, 17, warmed his hands on a charcoal grill in Austin.

A tornado tore through a coastal town in southeastern North Carolina, knocking down homes, killing at least three people and injuring 10 others, officials said.

Temperatures were as low as 23 degrees below zero along the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Kaleb Love worked to clear ice from a fountain in Richardson, Texas.

Snow-covered bicycles in Chicago.

Lynden Davidson, 16, and Tempa Cole, 14, shoveled driveways in their Columbus, Ohio, neighborhood. They planned to save the money for college tuition.

A grocery store in Dallas used plastic sheets to try to keep food cold as the power turned on and off on Tuesday.

Free snow in Winnetka, Ill.

People seeking shelter from freezing temperatures rested inside a church warming center in Houston.

Snow did not stop commuters in Chicago.

Ricky Boebel snowboarded down a hill in Schiller Park in Columbus.

The San Miguel-Williams family used the snow and garbage bags to keep their perishables cold in Austin. They have been without power since Sunday night.

Joel Zavala carried cans of gas to refill a generator at his Austin home, which has been without power since early Monday morning.

A snowplow in Columbus in the early hours.

Roger Hake used his truck lights as he cleared snow from his driveway before sunrise in Webster, N.Y.

Monday, Feb. 15

Without power, Dan Bryant and his wife, Anna, stayed warm by the fire with their sons and dog in Garland, Texas.

A street in Austin without power in the evening.

Shoveling snow in Dallas.

A snow-covered road in Austin, which was shut down because of the storm.

A residential street in Austin.

Snow and ice slowed traffic on Interstate 40 in Nashville.

Commuters in Waco tried to dislodge their cars from the snow.

A woman walking her dog at Smale Riverfront Park in Cincinnati.

A boy feeding pigs during the storm in St. Joe, Ark.

A snowball fight in Ridgeland, Miss.

People working to free a stuck vehicle in Oklahoma City.

Craig Crow walked through the snow with his daughters in San Antonio.

A vehicle towed an improvised sled through the campus at the University of Texas at Austin.

Sunday, Feb. 14

Michael Given asked for money at an intersection in Oklahoma City. Mr. Given said he was a restaurant worker who was laid off during the coronavirus pandemic.

Snow-covered city streets in Tulsa, Okla.

A stop sign encased in a shell of ice in north Tulsa.

Sea creatures awaited warmer weather in Chicago.

Sleet and snow shut down roads in Dallas.

A sign gave a wintry warning in Dallas.

Saturday, Feb. 13

Harrison Walsh skied near Pike Place Market in Seattle.

Visitors at a popular restaurant near Pike Place Market.

A coronavirus testing site was open in Seattle.

A jogger navigated a snowy Seattle street.

Cars driving in the snow along Interstate 705 in Tacoma, Wash.

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