Hundreds of thousands of residents across Mississippi and Tennessee remain without power following a severe winter storm that blanketed the region in ice and plunged temperatures into the teens.
The storm, part of the larger Winter Storm Fern, delivered freezing rain, downed trees and power lines, and left roads impassable just as Arctic air settled over the South.
As of Tuesday morning, more than 400,000 customers in the region were without electricity, according to utility reports and tracking site PowerOutage.us.
In Tennessee alone, 175,000 people were still in the dark, including nearly 120,000 in Nashville and Davidson County, AccuWeather reported.
Mississippi officials said power restoration could stretch into the weekend, citing broken poles and nearly 1,000 spans of wire down across the western half of the state.
Emergency crews faced delays due to hazardous road conditions, low temperatures and strong winds.
Why It Matters
The ice storm hit southern regions ill-equipped for prolonged winter weather, with officials in both Mississippi and Tennessee reporting extensive damage to power infrastructure.
Tennessee Emergency Management reported that 189 power poles had broken during the storm, and crews are working extended 14- to 16-hour shifts to address the outages.
Arctic conditions following the storm have slowed efforts and kept many roads impassable.
Warming shelters have opened throughout the Southeast, but authorities continue to urge residents to stay off the roads due to continued threats from ice and falling debris.
What To Know
The storm, which swept through more than a dozen states, was forecast to bring ice, snow and extreme cold from Texas to the Mid-Atlantic.
Winter storm watches had warned residents of up to three inches of snow in Memphis and dangerous ice across much of Tennessee and Mississippi.
“Expect power outages and tree damage due to the ice,” the National Weather Service in Memphis said in a statement ahead of the storm. “Travel could be impossible.”
Storm Fern prompted emergency declarations in at least 18 states and led to at least 29 deaths, including two in Mississippi tied directly to the storm’s impact.
The cold snap has also brought sub-zero temperatures and wind chills across parts of the Plains and Midwest, extending the danger beyond the immediate storm path.
What’s Next
Utility companies across Mississippi and Tennessee are continuing repairs, though full restoration may take several more days due to the scale of damage and lingering weather challenges.
Nashville Electric Service reported working through the night, while Middle Tennessee Electric said it had fewer than 3,000 customers left to restore by Tuesday.
Meteorologists say frigid temperatures will persist into early February, increasing hardship for those still without heat.
The National Weather Service has warned that further ice formation could continue as daytime melting refreezes overnight, creating additional hazards and delaying full recovery.
Newsweek reached out to disaster agencies for comment via email.
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