LOUISVILLE (AP) – Harsh weather moved west yesterday as a polar vortex was expected to grip the Rockies and the northern Plains after winter storms pummeled the eastern United States (US) over the weekend, killing at least 10 people, including nine victims in Kentucky who died during flooding from heavy rains.
The National Weather Service warned of “life-threatening cold” into today, with temperatures in northeastern Montana predicted to dip as low as -42.7 degrees Celsius (oC) with wind chills down to -51oC.
Meteorologists said several states would experience the 10th and coldest polar vortex event this season. Weather forces in the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air that usually stays near the North Pole into the US and Europe.
In Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear said on Sunday that the death toll rose to nine.
“I am sad to share some more tough news tonight, Kentucky. We just confirmed another weather-related death out of Pike County, bringing our total loss to nine people.”
Beshear had said that at least 1,000 people stranded by floods had to be rescued. President Donald Trump approved Kentucky’s request for a disaster declaration, authorising the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts throughout the state.
Beshear said most of the deaths, including a mother and seven-year-old child, were caused by cars getting stuck in high water.
“So folks, stay off the roads right now and stay alive,” he said. Parts of Kentucky and Tennessee received up to 15 centimetres of rain, said senior forecaster with the National Weather Service Bob Oravec.
“The effects will continue for awhile, a lot of swollen streams and a lot of flooding going on,” Oravec said.
In Alabama, the weather service in Birmingham said it had confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down in Hale County.
Storms there and elsewhere in the state destroyed or damaged a handful of mobile homes, downed trees and toppled power lines, but no injuries were immediately reported.
A state of emergency was declared for parts of Obion County, Tennessee, after a levee failed on Saturday, flooding the small community of Rives, home to around 300 people in the western part of the state.
