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‘Life-Threatening Cold’ Expected as Polar Vortex Stretches across US After Deadly Weekend Flooding

Portions of Basil Griffin Park in Bowling Green, Ky., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, sit submerged after heavy rainfall. (Jack Dobbs/Daily News via AP)
Portions of Basil Griffin Park in Bowling Green, Ky., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, sit submerged after heavy rainfall. (Jack Dobbs/Daily News via AP)
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‘Life-Threatening Cold’ Expected as Polar Vortex Stretches across US After Deadly Weekend Flooding

Portions of Basil Griffin Park in Bowling Green, Ky., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, sit submerged after heavy rainfall. (Jack Dobbs/Daily News via AP)
Portions of Basil Griffin Park in Bowling Green, Ky., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, sit submerged after heavy rainfall. (Jack Dobbs/Daily News via AP)

Harsh weather moved west on Monday as a polar vortex was expected to grip the Rockies and the northern Plains after winter storms pummeled the eastern 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 Tuesday, with temperatures in northeastern Montana predicted to dip as low as 45 degrees below zero (-42.7 degrees Celsius) with wind chills down to 60 below (-51 degrees Celsius).

Dangerously cold wind chill temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero (minus 45.6) were expected in most of North Dakota, which remained under an “extreme cold warning” along with large swaths of South Dakota and Minnesota, according to the weather service.

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.

Kentucky, Appalachia battered by flooding

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Sunday that the death toll in his state had risen to nine and at least 1,000 people stranded by floods had to be rescued. President Donald Trump approved Kentucky's request for a disaster declaration, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts throughout the state.

In Atlanta, a person was killed when a large tree fell on a home early Sunday, raising the overall death toll from harsh weather to 10.

Parts of Kentucky and Tennessee received up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain, Bob Oravec, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service, said Sunday.

Water submerged cars and buildings in Kentucky and mudslides blocked roads in Virginia over the weekend. Flood warnings extended throughout Tennessee and Arkansas.

In West Virginia, 13 southern counties were under a state of emergency for flooding and some areas were cut off to vehicle traffic Sunday. Several volunteer fire departments dealt with flooding in their own buildings while answering rescue and evacuation calls.

Rockies, Midwest, Northeast hit with snow storms

Ice and snow made road travel treacherous in large swaths of Michigan, which remained under a winter weather advisory until Monday afternoon. Michigan State Police reported 114 crashes Sunday around the Detroit area since snow started falling Saturday.

“Fortunately, most were one-car spin outs and there were no serious injuries,” Michigan State Police said on X.

Authorities in Colorado reported eight people were killed in fatal vehicle crashes since Valentine’s Day and warned drivers to be cautious as the weather made driving more difficult. The causes of the fatal crashes weren’t immediately known.

Also in Colorado, three state patrol cruisers that had pulled over along roadsides were struck by other vehicles, including one on Sunday where a trooper had stopped as officials prepared to close a road because of ice. In each case the troopers were out of their cruisers at the time and were uninjured.

Avalanche warnings were issued for numerous areas of the Rocky Mountains stretching from Colorado to Washington state, with the danger rated highest in Utah.

Part of Detroit is submerged in water after pipe burst

Parts of a southwest Detroit neighborhood are submerged after a nearly century-old water main burst early Monday.

The 54-inch (137-centimeter) transmission main was built in 1930 and has left several feet of water over streets, sidewalks and yards, according to the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Crews and contractors were in the area attempting to isolate the break. It was not clear what caused the main to burst, but temperatures late Sunday into Monday morning were well below zero degrees Fahrenheit (minus 17 degrees C).

No injuries have been reported. Firefighters used a ladder to help one person from the roof of a car in waist-deep water and a bulldozer was used to navigate a flooded street and help people leave a home, according to the fire department.

Mayor Mike Duggan says people impacted by the flooding can shelter in place if they have power and feel safe. Those who want to leave can call 911 and fire crews will help them from their homes and take them to a temporary shelter.

Avalanche warnings for Rockies and elsewhere

Avalanche warnings were issued for numerous areas of the Rocky Mountains stretching from Colorado to Washington state, with the danger rated highest in Utah.

The Mount Washington Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning Monday for several places in the White Mountains — including Tuckerman Ravine, Gulf of Slides, Huntington Ravine, and Great Gulf — in the state of New Hampshire.

Two ice climbers were rescued in the White Mountains on Sunday after they triggered an avalanche and one of them became partially buried in the snow, the New Hampshire Fish and Game said in a statement.

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Japan’s Aging Atomic Bomb Survivors Speak Out Against Nuclear Weapons 

The A-Bomb Dome is reflected on the Motoyasu river at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, early 05 August 2025. (EPA)
The A-Bomb Dome is reflected on the Motoyasu river at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, early 05 August 2025. (EPA)
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Japan’s Aging Atomic Bomb Survivors Speak Out Against Nuclear Weapons 

The A-Bomb Dome is reflected on the Motoyasu river at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, early 05 August 2025. (EPA)
The A-Bomb Dome is reflected on the Motoyasu river at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, early 05 August 2025. (EPA)

Eighty years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many of the remaining Japanese survivors are increasingly frustrated by growing nuclear threats and the acceptance of nuclear weapons by global leaders.

The US attacks on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and three days later on Nagasaki killed more than 200,000 people by the end of that year. Others survived but with radiation illness.

About 100,000 survivors are still alive. Many hid their experiences to protect themselves and their families from discrimination that still exists. Others couldn’t talk about what happened because of the trauma they suffered.

Some of the aging survivors have begun to speak out late in their lives, hoping to encourage others to push for the end of nuclear weapons.

An English-speaking guide at Hiroshima's peace park

Despite numerous health issues, survivor Kunihiko Iida, 83, has devoted his retirement years to telling his story as a way to advocate for nuclear disarmament.

He volunteers as a guide at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. He wants to raise awareness among foreigners because he feels their understanding of the bombings is lacking.

It took him 60 years to be able to talk about his ordeal in public.

When the US dropped a uranium bomb on Hiroshima, Iida was 900 meters (yards) away from the hypocenter, at a house where his mother grew up.

He was 3 years old. He remembers the intensity of the blast. It was as if he was thrown out of a building. He found himself alone underneath the debris, bleeding from shards of broken glass all over his body.

“Mommy, help!” he tried to scream, but his voice didn’t come out. Eventually he was rescued by his grandfather.

Within a month, his 25-year-old mother and 4-year-old sister died after developing nosebleeds, skin problems and fatigue. Iida had similar radiation effects through elementary school, though he gradually regained his health.

He was almost 60 when he finally visited the peace park at the hypocenter, the first time since the bombing, asked by his aging aunt to keep her company.

After he decided to start telling his story, it wasn’t easy. Overwhelmed by emotion, it took him a few years before he could speak in public.

In June, he met with students in Paris, London and Warsaw on a government-commissioned peace program. Despite his worries about how his calls for nuclear abolishment would be perceived in nuclear-armed states like Britain and France, he received applause and handshakes.

Iida says he tries to get students to imagine the aftermath of a nuclear attack, how it would destroy both sides and leave behind highly radioactive contamination.

“The only path to peace is nuclear weapons' abolishment. There is no other way,” Iida said.

A regular at anti-war protests

Fumiko Doi, 86, would not have survived the atomic bombing on Nagasaki if a train she was on had been on time. The train was scheduled to arrive at Urakami station around 11 a.m., just when the bomb was dropped above a nearby cathedral.

With the delay, the train was 5 kilometers (3 miles) away. Through the windows, Doi, then 6, saw the flash. She covered her eyes and bent over as shards of broken windows rained down. Nearby passengers covered her for protection.

People on the street had their hair burnt. Their faces were charcoal black and their clothes were in pieces, she said.

Doi told her children of the experience in writing, but long hid her status as a survivor because of fear of discrimination.

Doi married another survivor. She worried their four children would suffer from radiation effects. Her mother and two of her three brothers died of cancer, and two sisters have struggled with their health.

Her father, a local official, was mobilized to collect bodies and soon developed radiation symptoms. He later became a teacher and described what he'd seen, his sorrow and pain in poetry, a teary Doi explained.

Doi began speaking out after seeing the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster following a strong earthquake and tsunami, which caused radioactive contamination.

She travels from her home in Fukuoka to join anti-war rallies, and speaks out against atomic weapons.

“Some people have forgotten about the atomic bombings ... That’s sad,” she said, noting that some countries still possess and develop nuclear weapons more powerful than those used 80 years ago.

“If one hits Japan, we will be destroyed. If more are used around the world, that’s the end of the Earth,” she said. “That’s why I grab every chance to speak out.”

At Hiroshima, learning from survivors

After the 2023 Hiroshima G7 meeting of global leaders and the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the grassroots survivors’ group Nihon Hidankyo last year, visitors to Hiroshima and Nagasaki peace museums have soared, with about one third of them coming from abroad.

On a recent day, most of the visitors at the Hiroshima peace park were non-Japanese. Samantha Anne, an American, said she wanted her children to understand the bombing.

“It’s a reminder of how much devastation one decision can make,” Anne said.

Katsumi Takahashi, a 74-year-old volunteer specializing in guided walks of the area, welcomes foreign visitors but worries about Japanese youth ignoring their own history.

On his way home, Iida, the survivor and guide, stopped by a monument dedicated to the children killed. Millions of colorful paper cranes, known as the symbol of peace, hung nearby, sent from around the world.

Even a brief encounter with a survivor made the tragedy more real, Melanie Gringoire, a French visitor, said after Iida's visit. “It’s like sharing a little piece of history.”