The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency says it has now confirmed 21 winter storm-related deaths in the state, a jump of more than half a dozen since Thursday night. Nearly half of the reported deaths were in Shelby County.
These are the number of confirmed storm deaths per county:
Cheatham: 1
Davidson: 3
Fayette: 1
Hardin: 2
Haywood: 1
Henderson: 2
Hickman: 2
Knox: 1
Obion: 2
Shelby: 6
The specifics about these deaths were not provided by the state. The total number also does not include two additional deaths reported by Metro Nashville Police this week, including 92-year-old James Mitchell, who was found in a roughly 47-degree home on Wednesday and 79-year-old Betty Doss who was found in a 44-degree home on Friday morning.
The official cause of death for those cases is still pending confirmation from the medical examiner.
At least one of the deaths in Nashville is believed to be connected to carbon monoxide poisoning after a man was found deceased next to his bed with a generator running nearby.
Hundreds of thousands of individuals remain without power in middle Tennessee alone. As temperatures once again dipped into the low teens, officials encourage Tennesseans to check on their neighbors and seek warm shelter if possible.
