Winter Storm Mara has affected seven states in the southern United States. The harshest conditions were seen in Texas, where the storm has already left seven dead and several injured. Another person died Arkansas, bringing the national death tally to eight.
The Texas Division of Emergency Management continues to alert residents of potential danger:
Ice accumulation can pose dangers!
Freezing rain adds weight to tree branches & power lines. This can lead to branches breaking & downed power lines.
Monitor outages maps & find contact info for your local power provider through @PUCTX’s resource page: https://t.co/nJIgOFpKPB pic.twitter.com/bRHWoSXLCa
— Texas Division of Emergency Management (@TDEM) February 1, 2023
Another serious problem caused by the storm has been power outages. More than 370,000 people in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and New Mexico are without power. In addition, there were a total of 670 flight cancellations in the United States, 257 of which operated out of Dallas and Austin, Texas airports.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, deployed the National Guard to help citizens and collaborate with other authorities to alleviate the effects of the storm on roads and buildings.
Texas National Guard Soldiers assist travelers today in Gillespie County. Currently, the Texas National Guard has force packages across Central and North Texas ready to respond to heavy rainfall, flash floods, and sub-freezing temperatures caused by the winter storms. 📸 by TxDOT pic.twitter.com/QpYpuKmLsi
— Texas Military Dept. (@TXMilitary) February 2, 2023
In a statement, the National Weather Service said Mara will begin to subside by late Thursday:
The epic ice storm across a portion of the Southern U.S. will come to an end on Thursday. A system tracking near the Gulf Coast will clear-out the frozen mess, while also producing heavy rain and perhaps a severe thunderstorm for the Gulf Coast states.