Millions without power as winter storm grips Central US

Huge winter storms have plunged large parts of the central and southern United States into an energy crisis this week as frigid blasts of Arctic weather crippled electric grids and left millions of Americans without power amid dangerously cold temperatures. In picture, Joel Zavala walks down a street carrying cans of gas for his generator at home in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, where he's been without power since early Monday morning. (Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

People ice skate on a skating pond at Blendon Woods Metro Park in Westerville, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Rain and snow moved into the Northeast as frigid temperatures gripped parts of the United States that are unaccustomed to slick roads and a deep freeze. (Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times)

A street in without power in Austin, Texas, on Monday evening, Feb. 15, 2021, after a storm dropped several inches of snow across the city. Millions of people were without power early Tuesday after a deadly winter storm bulldozed its way across the southern and central parts of the United States, in places where such perilously frigid conditions tend to arrive just once in a generation. (Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

A snow plow clears a parking lot in Columbus, Ohio, early Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, as snow continues to fall. (Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times)

Perishables from a refrigerator are stored in plastic bags outside in the snow in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, following the loss of power since Sunday night. (Ilana Panich-Linsman/The New York Times)

Peyton Hunter shovels snow around his family's home in Austin, Texas on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. (Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

As a winter storm forced the Texas’ power grid to the brink of collapse, millions of residents were plunged this week into darkness, bitter cold and indignation over being stuck in uncomfortable and even dangerous conditions. (Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

A rare deep freeze in Texas that raised demand for power forced the state's electric grid operator on Monday to impose rotating blackouts, leaving 4 million customers without power even as temperatures dipped to teeth-chattering levels.The cold snap sweeping Texas reached the northern part of neighboring Mexico as well, where authorities said 4.7 million users lost power early on Monday. In picture, Austin, Texas is blanketed in snow on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, after a storm dropped several inches of snow across the city. (Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

An unusually wide band of frigid air over the center of the country is spreading dangerous ice and snow in many areas that rarely see such weather. (Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

A sign warns of frozen pipes in Dallas on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. At least 2.5 million customers, most of them in Texas, had lost electricity by early Monday as weather advisories extended from coast to coast. (Nitashia Johnson/The New York Times)

Alena Nederveld and Jackson Hall sled down a hill on an air mattress in Austin, Texas, on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, after a storm dropped several inches of snow across the city. (Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

Mackenzie Mitchell throws snow in the air outside of her apartment complex in Austin, Texas, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, after a major storm dropped several inches of snow across the city. (Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

A man shovels snow in Dallas on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. (Nitashia Johnson/The New York Times)

A group of University of Texas students helped push a stuck vehicle out of the road in Austin, Texas, on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. (Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

National Weather Service forecasters have extended the winter storm warning for the Houston area to 6 am Thursday, as cold weather and the threat of more rain — freezing or otherwise — remain.(Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

Snow in Conroe, Texas, on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. A winter storm warning is in effect for the Conroe area until Monday evening, according to the National Weather Service, and rolling power outages have been ongoing throughout Texas. (Allyson Waller/The New York Times)