Rochester, N.Y. – A storm blamed for at least 39 deaths in six states spread into the Northeast on Monday, coating trees, power lines and roads with a shell of ice and knocking out power to homes and businesses. Meanwhile, farmers on the West Coast feared a serious blow to their crops as cold weather persisted.
Ice-covered roads cut into Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observances from Albany, N.Y., to Fort Worth and Austin, Texas, where officials also canceled Gov. Rick Perry’s inauguration parade today because another round of ice was expected.
The weight of the ice snapped tree limbs and took down power lines, knocking out electricity to about 145,000 customers in New York state and New Hampshire.
In hard-hit Missouri, the utility Ameren said it would probably not have everyone’s lights back on until Wednesday night.
About 100,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma, some since the storm’s first wave struck on Friday, also were still waiting for power Monday. Ice built up by sleet and freezing rain was 4 inches thick in places.
About 127,000 customers were without electricity Monday in Michigan.
More than 160 flights were canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Waves of freezing rain, sleet and snow since Friday have been blamed for at least 15 deaths in Oklahoma, eight in Missouri, eight in Iowa, four in New York, three in Texas and one in Maine. Seven of the Oklahoma deaths occurred when a minivan carrying 12 people slid off an icy highway Sunday and hit an oncoming truck.
In California, farmers braced for the worst. State officials said there was no way of knowing how much damage had been done by the freeze, which has sent temperatures plunging into the teens and 20s for several nights.
Farmers in some sections reported near complete losses of groves of oranges, lemons and other citrus.
The state is the top U.S. producer of lemons and table oranges, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture estimates the value of the crop still on the trees at $960 million.
Citrus was not the only crop prompting worries. Farmers along the coast, where temperatures rarely dip below 32 degrees, kept a close eye on avocados and strawberries. In the southern regions, lettuce and other leafy greens were at risk.
Officials could not estimate what effect the freeze would have on supplies and prices for consumers.
The New York Times contributed to this report.
