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Major winter storm strikes America hitting states like Texas especially hard. If that sounds familiar, it's because the country is weathering back-to-back winter systems and that's put about 125 million Americans, more than a 1/3 of the U.S. population under some sort of weather alert.
Most of these warnings stretch from Texas to New England though winter weather has effected states from Washington to Michigan as well. Many of the people who are feeling it the most are those whose power have been knocked out. Several million of them in Texas and authorities are warning people to be especially careful if they're trying to warm their homes without the power on.
They say portable gas-powered generators should never be used inside. Fireplaces, woodstoves and combustion heaters should only be used if they're vented correctly to the outside. Cars should never be left running inside a garage even with the garage door open.
All of these raise the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning which has been blamed for several of the deaths that have been reported during these winter storms. In the southeastern Texas city of Houston, scores of people waited for up to six hours to get inside a shelter that was set up at a convention center.
Volunteers brought food and warm clothing to help. Others whose electricity and water weren't running at home lined up in their cars for fast food in some cases waiting four hours to get to the drive-thru.
Last year natural gas and coal generated more than half of Texas' electricity. These plants need water to stay online and with water facilities frozen in the cold temperatures, some companies can't produce electricity. Wind turbines like these are responsible for around 25 percent of Texas' energy production.
We told you yesterday how some froze up or shut down during the storms. Experts say the turbines weren't prepared with antifreeze for instance for the frigid weather. Nuclear power accounts for about 11 percent of Texas' electricity and at least one nuclear unit shut down because it also needs water. So the result of all of this, Texans are stuck in the cold.
