Hypothermia risks increase in Mississippi and Tennessee with next wave
of frigid temperatures
[January 30, 2026]
By SOPHIE BATES, SUDHIN THANAWALA and RUSS BYNUM
BELZONI, Miss. (AP) — With another wave of dangerous cold heading for
the U.S. South on Friday, experts say the risk of hypothermia heightens
for people in parts of Mississippi and Tennessee who are entering their
sixth day trapped at home without power in subfreezing temperatures.
“The longer you’re exposed to the cold, the worse it is,” said Dr. Hans
House, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Iowa. “The
body can handle cold temperatures briefly very well, but the prolonged
exposure is a problem."
The National Weather Service said arctic air moving into the Southeast
will cause already frigid temperatures to plummet into the teens (minus
10 degrees Celsius) on Friday night in cities like Nashville, where more
than 79,000 homes and businesses still lacked power nearly a week after
a massive storm dumped snow and ice across the eastern U.S.
People who are more vulnerable — the elderly, infants and those with
underlying health conditions — may have started experiencing hypothermia
symptoms within hours of being exposed to the frigid temperatures,
explained Dr. Zheng Ben Ma, medical director of the University of
Washington Medical Center’s northwest emergency department. That
includes everything from exhaustion to slurred speech and memory loss.
But almost a week in and the situation is nearing a turning point, he
explained: Younger people who are generally healthy could potentially
begin to fall victim to these symptoms as well.
“Once you get into days six, seven, upwards of 10, then even a healthy,
resilient person will be more predisposed to experiencing some of those
deleterious effects of the cold temperature,” he said.
Hundreds of National Guard troops mobilized Thursday in Mississippi and
Tennessee to clear debris and assist people stranded in cars or stuck at
homes.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Guard troops were delivering meals,
blankets and other supplies by truck and helicopter. And in Tennessee,
Gov. Bill Lee said crews had distributed more than 600 units of warming
supplies and over 2,200 gallons (8,328 liters) of gas and diesel.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said that they have the most line
workers, crews and vegetation support workers in the city utility's
history as they work to get electricity back for everyone.
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A smattering of people sit around the Humphreys County warming
center in Belzoni, Miss., on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP
Photo/Sophie Bates)
But the exact timeline for power to be restored, especially in more
rural areas, remains unclear.
At least 85 people have died in areas affected by bitter cold from
Texas to New Jersey. Roughly half the deaths were reported in
Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. While some deaths have been
attributed to hypothermia, others are suspected to be related to
carbon monoxide exposure.
Dr. Abhi Mehrotra, an emergency medicine physician with the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said it's important to
make sure heat sources used indoors, including generators, are not
emitting carbon monoxide, which could be deadly.
More than 230,000 homes and businesses were without electricity
Thursday night, according to the outage tracking website
poweroutage.us. The vast majority were in Mississippi and Tennessee,
with roughly 87,000 each.
Mississippi officials say it's the state’s worst winter storm since
1994. About 80 warming centers were opened across the state, known
as one of the nation’s poorest.
Forecasters say the subfreezing weather will persist in the eastern
U.S. into February and there's high chance of heavy snow in the
Carolinas, Virginia and northeast Georgia this weekend, possibly up
to a foot (30 centimeters) in parts of North Carolina. Snow is also
possible along the East Coast from Maryland to Maine.
The National Weather Service said there was a chance of freezing
rain Thursday night in parts of Mississippi, and light snow showers
could hit Nashville overnight Friday. Forecasters said the extreme
cold and subzero wind chills (minus 18 C) represented the greatest
danger.
___
Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia, and Thanawala from Atlanta.
Associated Press writers Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Jonathan Mattise
and Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee; Sarah Brumfield in
Washington; Devi Shastri in Milwaukee and Hallie Golden in Seattle
contributed.
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