At least 28 dead as winter storm brings ice, snow, extreme cold

At least 28 people have died amid a monster winter storm over the weekend that unleashed freezing temperatures and heavy snow across dozens of states, causing power outages and treacherous road conditions for emergency responders.

Ice, freezing rain and snow began falling across parts of the South from Texas to Kansas beginning Friday and shifted eastward Sunday, bringing a mix of wintry conditions from the Carolinas to New York.

The treacherous conditions have so far been linked to 28 deaths in 12 states, including one each in Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and South Carolina; two each in Louisiana, Massachusetts and Mississippi, three each in Pennsylvania and Tennessee and nine in New York.

Cold temperatures are expected to linger into the week, raising further health concerns for those without power or shelter.

Here’s what we know about deaths related to the winter storm.

Arkansas

In central Arkansas, a 17-year-old boy died in a sledding incident on Saturday, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to USA Today. The teen was being pulled by an ATV when he struck a tree and sustained critical injuries.

Kansas

Authorities in Emporia, about an hour southwest of Topeka, say a 28-year-old woman “succumbed to hypothermia” related to the storm after she was reported missing Friday, according to reporting by the Topeka Capital-Journal, part of USA TODAY Network.

Officials found Rebecca Rauber’s body in a wooded area at 5:07 p.m. Sunday, more than 24 hours after she left a local bar in Emporia and was reported missing. Police said Rauber may have become hypothermic “early on in her disappearance as she was covered in snow due to the snowstorm that became heavy on Saturday.”

Kentucky

Gov. Andy Beshear posted to X on Monday that a 72-year-old woman in Whitley County died of hypothermia.

Louisiana

Two men in northwest Louisiana died of hypothermia related to the winter storm, the Louisiana Department of Health confirmed on Sunday.

Massachusetts

A man in his 60s died after having a medical emergency while shoveling snow in Marshfield, reported the Patriot Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network.

A woman was killed and her husband was injured after a plow truck backed into the couple in Norwood, a suburb south of Boston, reported WCVB, a media partner with the Patriot Ledger.

The woman, 51-year-old Noriko Rapley, and her husband were walking through a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority parking lot during the storm around 2 p.m. on Sunday when a contracted driver of a Ford F-350 truck with a plow attached shifted into reverse and struck the couple, the TV station reported. Rapley was killed and her husband was taken to the hospital with injuries.

Michigan

The body of a missing University of Michigan student, identified as 19-year-old Lucas Mattson, was recovered on Saturday. Mattson was last seen at around 1 a.m. local time on Friday walking alone outside “without a coat,” according to the Ann Arbor Police Department.

The teen was found after a nearly 20-hour search effort by authorities in “extreme cold conditions,” police said. The cause of his death has not yet been determined, but police said there were no “obvious signs of trauma” and foul play was not suspected.

Mississippi

Bobbie Freeman, a 66-year-old man, died in Bolton, Mississippi from extreme cold after his car either slid off the road or broke down, according to the Hind’s County coroner.

Timothy Freeman, 66, died when an ice-laden tree limb fell through the roof of his mobile home in Iuka in Tishomingo County.

New York

At least eight people died outside in New York City over the weekend, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office confirmed. The deaths remain under investigation, said Dora Pekec, senior spokesperson for the mayor. “We can’t confirm the cause of death, but we can say they were all found outside.”

In Long Island, Roger McGovern, a retired New York City police sergeant, died while shoveling snow, according to media reports, including ABC7NY.

Pennsylvania

Daniel Buglio, coroner for Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, confirmed in a statement that three people, ages 60 to 84, died while shoveling snow or doing other snow removal activities before suffering medical emergencies.

South Carolina

In Greenwood County, South Carolina, a 96-year-old woman was found unresponsive outside her home. The county coroner’s office said she died of hypothermia.

Tennessee

The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed three deaths, one each in Crockett, Haywood and Obion counties, reported the Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Tennessee Highway Patrol said it has been helping motorists across the state with weather-related incidents. On Saturday, Lt. Bill Miller with the Tennessee Highway Patrol reported they had responded to more than 50 crashes, which resulted in 18 injuries and one fatality.

Texas

The mayor of Austin announced Sunday the first death in the area related to the winter storm. The death was “exposure-related,” Mayor Kirk Watson said in a post on X.

A major crash on Interstate 10 in Kimble County shut the highway down for several hours late Saturday, according to the Texas Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety. Eight people were injured and John Robert, 56, of Lutz, Florida was killed, according to the public safety department.