100m Americans prepare for more cold as weather kills 20

Delays in vaccine shipments and deliveries likely; Texas experiences worst power outages; travel remains ill-advised with thousands of flights cancelled; schools shut

Winter weather that has overwhelmed power grids unprepared for climate change and let millions without electricity in record-breaking cold kept its grip on the nation’s midsection on Wednesday.

At least 20 people have died, some while struggling to find warmth inside their homes.

In the Houston area, one family succumbed to carbon monoxide from car exhaust in their garage; another perished as they used a fireplace to keep warm.

Blame the polar vortex, a weather pattern that usually keeps to the Arctic, but is increasingly visiting lower latitudes and staying beyond its welcome.

Scientists say global warming caused by humans is partly responsible for making the polar vortex’s southward escapes longer and more frequent.

More than 100 million people live in areas covered on Wednesday by some type of winter weather warning, watch or advisory, as yet another winter storm hits Texas and other parts of the southern Plains, the National Weather Service said.