By Emmanuel Bobby

Forecasters warned that dangerously cold conditions would linger into Monday morning across a vast stretch of the United States, from the Gulf Coast to New England, as communities cleaned up after a powerful weekend bomb cyclone dumped heavy snow in North Carolina and delivered rare flurries — and falling iguanas — in Florida.

Temperatures were expected to slowly rise later Monday, but hardship continued for thousands still without power following an ice storm that struck the South last month.

Roughly 150 million people across the eastern U.S. were under cold weather advisories or extreme cold warnings Sunday. Single-digit temperatures reached parts of the South, and South Florida experienced its coldest air mass since December 1989, according to Peter Mullinax, a National Weather Service meteorologist in College Park, Maryland.

Heavy Snow and Dangerous Travel in North Carolina

The National Weather Service office in Raleigh warned that wind chills could plunge near zero early Monday, with lingering snow and ice refreezing overnight and making travel hazardous.

“Snow and ice will linger, with refreezing tonight making travel hazardous,” the agency said. “Use caution on roads and dress in warm layers.”

In eastern North Carolina, James City reported 18 inches of snow, while Swansboro recorded 17 inches. The rapidly intensifying storm dropped nearly a foot of snow in and around Charlotte, marking one of the city’s top five snow events on record.

Air travel was heavily disrupted, with more than 2,800 U.S. flights canceled Saturday and at least 1,800 more canceled Sunday, according to FlightAware. Over 800 of Sunday’s cancellations involved Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

The storm also snarled traffic along Interstate 85 northeast of Charlotte after a crash left dozens of vehicles backed up for hours. Gov. Josh Stein said more than 1,000 traffic collisions and two road deaths were reported statewide.

“It’s an impressive cold shot, for sure,” Mullinax said. “Daily records are being set down in the South.”

Rare Freeze Reaches Florida

Florida also felt the blast of cold air, with snow flurries reported in the Tampa–St. Petersburg area and temperatures dropping into the 20s in the Panhandle and the 30s in South Florida. The cold stunned iguanas, which often become immobile in low temperatures and can die if the freeze lasts more than a day.

Farmers reported ice forming on strawberries and oranges, prompting some to spray crops with water — a common technique used to protect fruit from freezing damage.

Power Outages and Storm Deaths Mount

Since late January, more than 110 deaths linked to winter storms have been reported nationwide. In Tennessee and Mississippi, more than 81,000 customers remained without electricity Sunday evening, according to PowerOutage.us.

Nashville Electric Service said it expects to restore power to 90% of customers by Tuesday and 99% by next Sunday — two weeks after the earlier storm. Gov. Bill Lee said he expressed “strong concerns” to utility leaders, while the company said the storm’s impact was unprecedented.

Mississippi officials described the event as the state’s worst winter storm since 1994. About 80 warming centers were opened, and National Guard troops delivered supplies by truck and helicopter.

Jamita Washington of Vicksburg, Mississippi, said she lost power during the earlier storm and spent three nights in a hotel with her son before electricity was restored Thursday. One of her two furnaces later froze, forcing her to sleep on the living room sofa to stay warm.

“It’s been frustrating,” Washington said, “but there are people in a worse position than we are. I know some homeless people, so I just feel like we’re technically blessed.”

Coastal Damage and Lingering Impacts

On North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Kitty Hawk resident Susan Sawin said her home shook under strong winds and heavy snow that reminded her of a nor’easter.

“It was a roaring wind,” said Sawin, 63. “The house shook.”

She reported snow drifts about two feet high outside her home but said she did not lose power. Grateful for advance warnings, Sawin closed her three bookstores over the weekend and planned to remain closed Monday — an unusual move for her business.

Elsewhere along the coast, officials said an unoccupied beachfront home in the Buxton community on Hatteras Island collapsed Sunday due to heavy surf.

Mullinax said parts of the Carolinas will be “digging out” for several days amid gusty winds and bitter wind chills. He added that light snow could fall Tuesday and Wednesday in the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic, potentially reaching Washington, D.C., and even New York City.