Arctic blast grips much of U.S. bringing brutal temperatures and dangerous wind chills

Geoff Bennett:

The same deep freeze that's put Iowa on ice has millions of other Americans in its grip as well. Most of the country shivered through a long day of power outages and flight cancellations, with at least six deaths blamed on the weather.

William Brangham has the story.

William Brangham:

Snow removal crews are braving bitter arctic temperatures to clear the way for the Iowa caucuses tonight. They are not alone.

Across the country, at least 150 million people faced windchill or dangerous cold advisories over the weekend and into today. Apart from the east and West Coasts, every region of the country is dealing with temperatures below freezing. In Great Falls, Montana, the windchill dipped to 40 below zero. Even fire trucks froze over.

Cory Reeves, the city's mayor, knows how dangerous these kinds of temperatures can be.

Cory Reeves, Mayor of Great Falls, Montana: It's bitter, bitter cold. In fact, it's deadly if people stay out in this weather too long and they're not dressed appropriately, things to that nature.

William Brangham:

That risk is especially high for vulnerable groups.

Cory Reeves:

Almost every neighborhood has elderly people living in their neighborhoods around here. And I think it's imperative that we be good neighbors. We stop over. We just make sure that they have the supplies they need, that they have heat.

William Brangham:

In Oregon, high winds, snow and ice left close to 100,000 customers without power in the Portland metro area. Lake-effect snow brought whiteout conditions to Buffalo, New York, this weekend. The NFL playoff game between the Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers was postponed from Sunday to this afternoon.

And with Highmark Stadium still under more than two feet of snow, the Bills hired fans to help shovel out the stands. And some even got a free ride.

Man:

We're going all the way this time!

William Brangham:

Further south, the intensity of this blast has taken many by surprise. States like Tennessee and Arkansas are facing snowy roads and freezing temperatures.

The frigid air stretched down into Texas, initially prompting fears of a repeat of 2021, when millions lost power and hundreds died. While Texas' grid seemed to be holding up so far, windchills aren't expected to let up anytime soon.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm William Brangham.