Several state officials are investigating price gouging, trying to increase aid to low-income customers, and taking action against vendors due to propane shortages.
Midwestern and Southern residents are struggling to keep warm with the rising prices or supply cutoffs from propane distributors.
A major propane supplier in Kentucky was forced to stop delivering to commercial customers in several states after Kentucky’s attorney general was given an injunction against the company.
Missouri’s Justice Department and was asked by lawmakers to investigate rising propane prices. Missouri’s attorney general will be helping in the investigation as well.
A letter detailing concerns and actions of dealers was released by the Missouri Propane Association.
Colorado Senator Greg Brophy wants state officials to declare a state of emergency to assist families with skyrocketing propane prices.
Due to the many winter storms, many low-income families have maxed out their heating assistance benefits yet need more to continue staying warm throughout the winter.
Propane prices have risen by as much as 350% during this winter season across the United States. Residents of Colorado claim prices rose from approximately $2.50 a gallon to $5 a gallon and are expected to keep rising.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced today that state administration is taking action to assist residents who have been affected by the ongoing propane shortage.
The Department of Human Services and legislature are working together to dedicate $7 million to the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program in addition to another $7 million that was devoted to heating assistance from the Michigan Energy Assistance Program.
A loan program is also being initialized to help propane dealers and distributors who are struggling to meet demand by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Additionally, the state is pushing for increased propane supply. More than 1.3 million gallons of propane have been delivered to the state this week.
Hundreds of thousands of people across the northeast were without power on Wednesday morning after another major winter storm struck a wide area.
Reuters reported that over 550,000 people across the upper Midwest and northeast were in the dark Wednesday morning and it was likely the number would rise throughout the day as the storm continued to move east.
Up to a foot of snow is expected to fall along the East Coast. New York could receive up to 6 inches of snow and upper New York could see anywhere from 5 to 16 inches according to the National Weather Service.
Over 2,400 flights nationwide have been canceled because of the storm.
The storm is a second blast in week for the area. Last Monday a storm dumped heavy, wet snow over much of the same region.
Parts of the lower northeast are reportedly expecting a layer of ice to form on top of the snowfall making travel even more hazardous.
Winter weather shocked the Deep South on Tuesday, leaving many communities without power and roads completely impassable for most cars.
The National Guard had to be called out to bring supplies to area schools where children were forced to spend the night in gymnasiums with teachers. Military Humvees are being used to move school buses that were stranded on highways.
Nearly all public entities and most businesses were shut down in the Atlanta area early Wednesday because of the winter conditions.
The weather conditions across the south led to people abandoning their vehicles on highways from Mississippi to the Florida panhandle.
Thousands of churches opened their sanctuaries to motorists who were stranded by the weather. Action Church of Canton, Georgia told the Associated Press that they had close to 20 people that were stranded near them come in for food, warmth and shelter.
Suburban Atlanta police even had to deliver a baby on the interstate when the mother was unable to make it to the hospital. Mother and baby were both fine.
A third “polar vortex” is aiming at the U.S. this week and it could bring the lowest temperatures of this winter’s trio of storms.
The forecast models show the frigid arctic air reaching into northern Mexico and all the way to south-central Florida. Parts of the Gulf of Mexico could see temperatures well below freezing.
The vortex is also expected to be longer than the previous two, lasting almost three days in some regions. Cities in the upper to central Midwest could be facing lows below zero for consecutive days with wind chills that could reach -50 degrees.
The National Weather Service said it could actually be warmer in the nation’s northernmost city, Barrow, Alaska, than it could be in most of the Midwest. Barrow’s predicted high for Monday is -4 degrees. That is the same predicted high for Chicago.
Forecasters say the temperature without wind chill could reach -17 degrees downtown. Wind chills could surge past -40 degrees.
In the northern Midwest, residents faced an additional problem as high winds blew snow to the point it made travel impossible.
Officials across the Midwest are encouraging residents to stay inside for the next two days and avoid travel unless absolutely necessary.
Southern Texas is facing a rare coating of ice as temperatures continue to plummet to record lows.
“The crazy thing is that the current cold snap this week looks to be a bit more modest in the face of next week’s outbreak,” Matt Rogers of the Commodity Weather Group told Bloomberg. “The cold coming for the end of January is sufficient to make this the coldest month of the century so far and the coldest the Lower 48 has felt in at least 20 years.”
Interstate 10 from Texas to Louisiana had to be closed because ice on the highway caused multiple accidents. State police warned residents to avoid the roadways as conditions deteriorated through the day Thursday and into Friday.
At least two deaths have been attributed to the icy accidents.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency because of the storm.
Texas officials are warning residents Friday that even if the winter weather warnings have been lifted, roads and bridges can freeze and be ice covered after dark.
Another polar blast is heading toward the eastern United States and could bring heavy snow to the northeast.
The storm through the day Tuesday is predicted to bring up to 12 inches of snow to the eastern seaboard from Virginia to Massachusetts. The storm will also bring heavy winds that could cause snowdrifts, poor travel conditions and downed power lines.
The Federal Government shut offices for Tuesday in preparation for the storm’s arrival. Forecast models called for 6 to 10 inches in the capital.
In addition to the snow and winds, the storm will bring cold temperatures far into the south. Forecasters call for lows in the teens from towns as far south as Memphis, Tennessee through the entire northern part of the country.
Temperatures across the eastern U.S. could be as much as 25 degrees lower than normal for this time of year.
The BBC reports that during Tuesday’s 24 hour time period every single U.S. state had one location posting a temperature below freezing.
Temperatures ranged from -31 degrees in International Falls, Minnesota to 25 at the top of Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii.
Schools throughout the Midwest from Minnesota to Texas closed because of cold weather conditions. Communities not used to severe freezing such as Memphis, Tennessee saw a wave of homeowners scrambling to deal with pipes broken by the extreme cold.
Over 7,000 flights have now been cancelled across the United States through Tuesday evening.
There are indications of a significant warm-up approaching most of the Midwest, however a severe winter storm in the Rocky Mountains could bring up to a foot of snow across Oklahoma, Kansas and the central Midwest this weekend.
The record-setting polar vortex not only broke temperature records throughout the United States but also threatened the nation’s power grid and transportation systems.
Forecasters say that the frigid temperatures from the polar vortex will impact 187 million people or almost 59% of the entire United States population.
Amtrak said at least 500 passengers were stranded on trains stuck in high snow or incapacitated by extreme cold in areas around Chicago. Trains from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Quincy, Illinois could not make it into Chicago because of impassable conditions.
Airports in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and other major Midwest and East Coast cities cancelled thousands of flights because of cold temperatures.
Power officials from Texas to Maine expressed concern about the pull on the nation’s power grid. Multiple utility systems are reporting the highest levels of draw in four to six months along with extensive increases in natural gas use. Government officials have been telling residents to stay in their homes because of the bitter cold.
Several major cities faced significant power outages such as Indianapolis where tens of thousands of homes were left in the dark.
