Human Interest Human Interest News Natural Disasters See Photos from the Record-Setting Winter Storm Uri: Its Impact on Texas and Beyond The massive snow storm — which brought record low temperatures, ice and snow — has left 47 dead and millions of Americans without power By Andrea Wurzburger Andrea Wurzburger Andrea Wurzburger is a former features writer at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on February 21, 2021 01:45PM EST 01 of 40 People carry groceries home in Austin, Texas. Montinique Monroe/Getty Over President's Day weekend, Winter Storm Uri hit huge swaths of the country, causing damaging ice in the Northwest and dumping snow across the Midwest and Northeast. Most affected by the storm is Texas, where millions of people are living without electricity, water and heat after the winter storm tore through the state. The resulting power outages have left families in the dark for days, battling freezing temperatures without access to electricity, heat and in some cases, clean water, as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas works to restore power back to at least 668,332 affected customers, according to Oncor, the largest energy delivery company in Texas. Click here for more ways you can help, and read on for images of the record-setting weather event. 02 of 40 Thomas Ryan Allison/Bloomberg via Getty A man attempts to go skiing down an icy, snowy road in Austin on Feb. 18. 03 of 40 Ashley Landis/AP/Shutterstock A swimming pool in Austin is covered in snow on Feb. 18. 04 of 40 Joe Raedle/Getty On Feb. 18, rarely seen icicles hang off a Highway 195 sign in Killeen, Texas. 05 of 40 IAN HALPERIN/UPI/Shutterstock An intersection is an icy, watery mess because of broken water lines in Wylie, Texas, on Feb. 18. 06 of 40 Thomas Ryan Allison/Bloomberg via Getty A construction vehicle is used to clear snow in Austin on Feb. 17. 07 of 40 Cooper Neill/Bloomberg via Getty A newspaper with the headline 'Freeze Grips N. Texas' is seen buried in snow in McKinney, Texas, on Feb. 16. 08 of 40 Jay Janner /Austin American-Statesman via AP A man tends a fire he used for heat and cooking at a homeless camp in Austin, Texas, after the extreme cold snap. 09 of 40 The Austin American-Statesman posted a video to Instagram showing lines wrapped around the block to get into a grocery store. Many stores are closed or can't restock due to dangerous road conditions, causing some to face food shortages. 10 of 40 Mark Felix for The Washington Post via Getty People wait in line for food at Gallery Furniture in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 17. The store opened in two locations as warming centers. 11 of 40 A furniture store becomes a shelter in Houston. David J Phillip/AP/Shutterstock Owner Jim McIngvale, also known as "Mattress Mack" told local news outlets, "We're here to help the community. A lot of people are without power. Come see us until the power gets back on." 12 of 40 David J Phillip/AP/Shutterstock Tiffany Woodley (left) sits at a table with her family after spending the night inside the furniture store. 13 of 40 People wait to fill up propane tanks in Houston. Mark Felix for The Washington Post via Getty Propane tanks are placed in a line as people wait for the power to turn on so that they can fill them in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 17. 14 of 40 David J Phillip/AP/Shutterstock People seeking shelter from below-freezing temperatures rest inside a church warming center in Houston on Feb. 17. 15 of 40 Tony Gutierrez/AP/Shutterstock Father John Szatkowski of St. Paul The Apostle Church in Richardson, Texas, pushes water from a broken water line on Feb. 17. Many in the area are still without water or dealing with burst pipes due to the cold. 16 of 40 David J Phillip/AP/Shutterstock People wait in line to fill propane tanks in Houston, with some standing outside for more than an hour in the freezing rain on Feb. 17. 17 of 40 Sea turtles. Sea Turtle, Inc A team of volunteers worked to rescue thousands of "cold-stunned" turtles from the unprecedented storm. Over the last week, more than 4,000 turtles have been found and rehabilitated from freezing waters by Sea Turtle, Inc., a conservation group in South Padre Island, CBS News reported. 18 of 40 Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP After seeing a posting on Facebook, a woman drove to Arlington, Texas, to collect some of the dumpsters-full of ice cream thrown out at a supermarket on Feb. 17. 19 of 40 IAN HALPERIN/UPI/Shutterstock People wait to get propane tanks filled outside Dallas, Texas, on Feb. 17. 20 of 40 LM Otero/AP/Shutterstock City of Richardson worker Kaleb Love works to clear ice from a fountain in Richardson, Texas, on Feb. 16. 21 of 40 Go Nakamura/Getty A cycad tree is covered by ice and snow on Feb. 16. 22 of 40 A water fountain freezes in Houston. Zach Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty A water fountain is frozen over in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Houston, Texas, on Feb. 17. 23 of 40 Cooper Neill/Bloomberg via Getty A person walks a dog on snow-covered streets in McKinney, Texas, on Feb. 16. 24 of 40 Bronte Wittpenn/Austin American-Statesman via AP Ivan Gonzales (left) and his brother-in-law Gabriel Martinez assist a motorist by using a carpet to help them up a hill in Austin, Texas. 25 of 40 Ron Jenkins/Getty A nearly empty Interstate 30 on Feb. 15 in Fort Worth, Texas. 26 of 40 Cooper Neill/Bloomberg via Getty A pedestrian walks through the snow in McKinney, Texas, on Tuesday. 27 of 40 Ron Jenkins/Getty A truck plows the parking lot at Dickies Arena on Feb. 16 in Fort Worth, Texas. 28 of 40 Go Nakamura/Getty A large trailer truck flipped sideways on Highway 59 in Pierce, Texas, after the winter storm left roads in dangerous condition. 29 of 40 Icicles on a home in McKinney, Texas. Cooper Neill/Bloomberg via Getty Icicles cling to a home in McKinney, Texas, on Feb. 16. 30 of 40 Montinique Monroe/Getty People work together to push a car out of the snow in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 17. 31 of 40 MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Ice clings to the branches of a bush in downtown Houston, Texas, on Feb. 15. 32 of 40 Ron Jenkins/Getty A snowman holds a bottle of wine in honor of Mardi Gras on Feb. 16 in Fort Worth, Texas. 33 of 40 Cooper Neill/Bloomberg via Getty A person walks their dog through the snow-covered streets in McKinney, Texas. 34 of 40 Go Nakamura/Getty Karla Perez and Esperanza Gonzalez warm up by a barbecue grill during the power outage in Houston, Texas. 35 of 40 Ralph Lauer/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Sam Patel (left) and Mike Bollin (right) clear snow from the front of the SureStay Plus Hotel. The hotel, located in Benbrook, Texas, is completely full with guests who have no power at home. 36 of 40 Scott Olson/Getty Chicago may be used to snowfall, but winter storm Uri impacted the Windy City, as well. Lake-effect snow dumped more than 17 inches in some areas of the city. 37 of 40 Scott Olson/Getty Orlando Flores — who recently moved to Chicago from Texas — digs out his wife's car in Chicago. 38 of 40 Scott Olson/Getty A pedestrian navigates a snow-covered sidewalk in Chicago on Feb. 16. 39 of 40 Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/Shutterstock In Athens County, Ohio, a parking meter is frozen over with ice. 40 of 40 Megan Jelinger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty A drone takes a photo of a snow-covered neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio. Close