At Least 17 People Have Died In NJ Due To Extreme Cold, Snow, Health Officials Say

The bitter cold weather and snow over the last few weeks has led to the deaths of at least 17 people in New Jersey, state health department officials said Monday.

The deaths happened prior to last weekend's extreme cold and below-zero wind chills, said Janie Thompson, a spokesperson with the state Department of Health.

The 17 deaths were as of Friday, Thompson said, and state officials are working to get updated information since the weekend.

She did not have details about where in the state the deaths happened or information on the identities of those who have died.

One known death was of a 67-year-old Verona man who died while shoveling snow during the heavy snow and ice storm on Jan. 25.

At least 100 people had died from Texas to New Jersey in the Jan. 23-27 storm, CBS News reported on Feb. 2. Causes of death included hypothermia or exposure, carbon monoxide poisoning, and accidents like sledding crashes.

Authorities have been warning residents about the dangers of the cold for the last few weeks as New Jersey had some of the coldest weather it has seen in more than five years.

The Jan. 25 storm was accompanied by temperatures that plummeted below freezing and have remained there for most of the state into early February, the longest streak of days below freezing since late 2017 into early 2018, according to state climatologist David Robinson.

Over the weekend, the U.S. National Weather Service Mount Holly office warned of dangerously cold temperatures with wind chills of -10 to -20 degrees (and up to -30 degrees) and an extreme cold warning was in effect for the entire state.

At those temperatures, frostbite and hypothermia can set in very quickly, officials have said. Code Blue shelters were open throughout the state and remain available through Thursday, officials have said.

The National Weather Service said New Jersey will see temperatures begin to ease later in the week, rising above freezing into the low 40s in some areas.