More than 3.5 million Texans are still without power as the death toll from the winter storm which has wreaked havoc across the United States hit 23 Tuesday night.

The record-breaking cold weather claimed more lives Tuesday, including four family members who perished in a Houston-area house fire while using a fireplace to stay warm and a woman and a girl who died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning from a car running in a garage after their home in the city lost power. 

Three people were found dead after a tornado hit a seaside town in North Carolina; a Mississippi man died after losing control of his vehicle, which overturned on an icy road Monday night near Starkville.

Two men found along Houston-area roadways likely died in subfreezing temperatures, law enforcement officials said.

In Harris County, Texas officials reported more than 300 carbon monoxide poisoning cases as people use BBQ pits and generators indoors in an effort to stay warm. Dr.
Samuel Prater, a UTHealth emergency physician told : 'With that number of patients going in, it's turning into a mini mass casualty event.' 

In Galveston, the medical examiner's office requested a refrigerated truck to expand body storage. 

The power breakdown sparked growing outrage and demands for answers over how Texas — whose Republican leaders as recently as last year taunted California over the Democratic-led state's rolling blackouts — failed such a massive test of a major point of state pride: energy independence. 

Governor Greg Abbot has demanded investigation into grid manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, as cities including San Antonio, Dallas and Austin were left to shoulder the brunt of a catastrophic power failure. 

Rep.

Jeff Leach called it 'ridiculous' that five of the 15 ERCOT board members do not appear to live in Texas. 

He tweeted: 'I'm filing legislation this session requiring all @ERCOT_ISO officers and directors to be Texas residents. Completely ridiculous and unacceptable that current ERCOT Board Chair lives in Michigan!'   

The state is the only one in continental U.S.
that has its own power grid; it is not federally regulated. 

More bad weather, including freezing rain, was expected Tuesday night with a new winter storm expected in the next two days over the south and east of the country. 

Hutto, Texas: Howard and Nena Mamu eat dinner at their home in the Glenwood neighborhood Tuesday.

Anger over Texas' power grid failing in the face of a record winter freeze mounted Tuesday as millions of residents in the energy capital of the U.S. remained shivering with no assurances that their electricity and heat  would return soon or stay on once it finally does

Houston, Texas: View from the First Ward neighborhood on Tuesday. The power breakdown sparked growing outrage and demands for answers over how Texas — whose Republican leaders as recently as last year taunted California over the Democratic-led state's rolling blackouts — failed such a massive test of a major point of state pride: energy independence

Richardson, Texas: Shaemiya Taylor, left front, and Marsha Williams, right front, play a board game as Jeremiah Murphy, left rear, and Khloee Williams, right rear, look on at a warming shelter Tuesday. In cooperation with the cities emergency management center, this location is one of seven that have opened in the city, offering those in need a place to keep warm

Houston, Texas: Freezer sections are closed off in Fiesta supermarket on Tuesday. Winter storm Uri has brought historic cold weather, power outages and traffic accidents to Texas

Austin, Texas: People walk on snowy streets Tuesday.

Temperatures dropped into the single digits in the state Tuesday 

Governor Greg Abbot has demanded investigation into grid manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas

The cold spell has already pushed snow cover to an all time high across the 48 states in North America.

Official data shows snow currently covers 73.2 per cent of the area with an average depth of 6 inches; a year ago just 35.5 per cent was covered with an average of 4.6 inches of snow. 

Several cities had record lows: In Minnesota, the Hibbing/Chisholm weather station registered minus 38 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 39 degrees Celsius).
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, digital marketing company dropped to minus 26 Fahrenheit (minus 26 degrees Celsius). 

Utilities from Minnesota to Texas implemented rolling blackouts to ease the burden on power grids straining to meet extreme demand for heat and digital marketing company electricity.  

Anger over Texas' power grid failing in the face of a record winter freeze mounted Tuesday as millions of residents in the energy capital of the U.S.

remained shivering with no assurances that their electricity and heat — out for 36 hours or longer in many homes — would return soon or stay on once it finally does.

'I know people are angry and frustrated,' said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who woke up to more than 1 million people still without power in his city.
'So am I.'      

Amber Nichols, whose north Austin home has had no power since early Monday, said: 'We're all angry because there is no reason to leave entire neighborhoods freezing to death. This is a complete bungle.'

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Nashville, Tennessee: A snow removal vehicle at Nashville International Airport on Tuesday 

Chicago, Illinois: Jennifer Evans stands beside her car, which was damaged when the building collapsed during the storm 

Chicago, Illinois: An aerial photo shows the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan after an overnight snowfall left more than 18 inches on the ground and roadways

Gov.

Greg Abbot has demanded investigation into grid manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas

The number of outages in Texas at one point exceeded four million customers.

'This is unacceptable,' Gov.
Abbott said, 'Far too many Texans are without power and heat for their homes as our state faces freezing temperatures and severe winter weather.'

He added: 'I have issued an executive order to review the preparations and decisions by ERCOT so we can determine what caused this problem and find long-term solutions.'  

By late Tuesday afternoon, ERCOT officials said some power had been restored, but they warned that even those gains were fragile and more outages were possible.

The grid began preparing for the storm a week ahead of time, but it reached a breaking point early Monday as conditions worsened and knocked power plants offline, ERCOT president Bill Magness said. 

Some wind turbine generators were iced, but nearly twice as much power was wiped out at natural gas and coal plants.

Forcing controlled outages was the only way to avert an even more dire blackout in Texas, Magness said.

'What we're protecting against is worse,' he said.

Houston, Texas: digital marketing company - https://rypulassessments.blogspot.com - People select shirts and sweatshirts being given away at a Gallery Furniture store after the owner opened his business as a shelter for those without power at their homes Tuesday

Houston, Texas: More than 4 million people in Texas still had no power a full day after historic snowfall and single-digit temperatures created a surge of demand agency website design for electricity to warm up homes unaccustomed to such extreme lows, buckling the state's power grid and causing widespread blackouts.

Those without power in Gallery Furniture on Tuesday 

Houston, Texas: The winter storm has resulted in people sleeping in their cars and furniture stores to keep warm amid unprecedented rolling blackouts that have plunged five million into darkness. Natalie Harrell holds her sleeping daughter, Natasha Tripeaux while sitting in a recliner at a Gallery Furniture store

Houston, Texas: The deep freeze that has paralyzed Texas by knocking out its power grid and sparking an energy crisis saw 5 million homes plunged into darkness amid unprecedented rolling blackouts.

Pictured above is homes in Houston without power but empty offices still lit up