At least 45 deaths in US blamed on winter storms in past 2 weeks

At least 45 people have died in the past two weeks after storms hit much of the US with rain, snow, wind and bitter cold temperatures, Report informs referring to The Hill.

The storms have turned roads into ice, and people have frozen to death.

A statewide emergency was declared in Oregon after multiple counties entered the sixth day of freezing rain conditions. As of Friday morning, more than 107,000 people in the state are without power, even after crews made progress after the ice storm caused extensive damage.

Three people were electrocuted Wednesday by a downed power line in Portland, Ore. A man trying to get out of a parked car covered by the line died with a baby in his arms after he fell on the icy driveway and landed on the wire. The baby survived, but the man’s 21-year-old girlfriend and her 15-year-old brother died when they tried to help, the AP reported.

Five people in Washington state died from exposure to cold, as Seattle’s temperatures reached well below freezing.

Police are investigating the death of an 18-year-old man in Kansas, after his body was found Wednesday in a ditch near where his car was stuck in snow.