U.S. Deep Freeze Leaves 38 Dead as Brazil Issues Cyclone Alerts and Portugal Battles Storm Kristin

Overview

• Authorities report at least 38 deaths linked to the U.S. winter blast, with widespread outages and more than 24,000 flight cancellations over several days.
• The National Weather Service attributes the severe U.S. cold to a distorted polar vortex, while scientists note possible climate links under active study.
• Forecasters warn another Arctic air mass could affect over 100 million people in coming days and potentially seed an additional East Coast storm.
• Brazil’s Inmet forecasts a cyclone forming off the Southeast from January 30, with rainfall over 100 mm in parts of Serra da Mantiqueira and official alerts for heavy rain and strong winds across multiple states.
• Local impacts in Brazil include flash flooding and rescues in the São Paulo metro and a historic downpour in Corumbá of about 136 mm in an hour, while Portugal confirms at least four deaths and large-scale power losses from Storm Kristin.