At least 10 New Yorkers were found dead outdoors as below-freezing temperatures and a bruising snowstorm gripped the Big Apple over the weekend, officials said Tuesday. Paul Martinka for NY Post
Winter Storm Fern buried New York City in snow and ice, then left behind something far worse than frozen sidewalks. Ten people were found dead outdoors or shortly after being brought in from the cold, including a 90-year-old woman with dementia who wandered away from home. The toll has turned a routine winter headline into a gut check about how the city protects its most vulnerable residents when temperatures plunge.
City officials say the deaths unfolded over several brutally cold days as Arctic air settled in after the storm. While the snow totals grabbed early attention, the real danger came from the deep freeze that followed, catching older New Yorkers, people with disabilities and those living on the streets in conditions that were unforgiving.
The deadly aftermath of Fern’s deep freeze
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told residents that 10 people were found dead outside in extreme cold after Winter Storm Fern, a count that covers cases across all five boroughs as the city shifted into what he called a “cold blue” response. The victims were discovered over several days as temperatures plunged into the teens and single digits, with wind chills that made it feel even colder, according to NYC officials. City data show that 10 New Yorkers were found dead out in the cold since Winter Storm Fern, a grim figure that matches what New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani shared Tuesday, and underscores how quickly exposure can turn fatal once the mercury drops below freezing for days at a time.
Among those who died was a 90-year-old woman with dementia who left her Brooklyn building and never made it back, a case that has come to symbolize the human cost of the storm. Neighbors and relatives identified her as Ellis, describing how she was later found outside her building in Crown Heights after apparently wandering off in the cold, according to officials. National coverage highlighted that ten people were found dead in New York City as Winter Storm Fern passed through, including a 90-year-old woman with dementia, a detail repeated in a NEED TO KNOW brief that framed the deaths as a stark warning about how quickly a cold snap can turn deadly.
Who was most at risk in the Arctic blast
City leaders have acknowledged that many of those who died were already living on the edge before the storm, with exposure to the elements compounding existing vulnerabilities. At least six people who died across the Big Apple amid the snowstorm were homeless, according to reporting that cited Mayor Zohr and other officials, and critics quickly argued that the city should have done more to move people into shelters before the worst of the cold hit. The broader tally of 10 found dead in NYC since the start of Arctic winds and the winter storm, detailed by Arctic weather coverage, shows how quickly conditions became lethal for anyone stuck outside overnight.
The 90-Year-Old victim with dementia has become a flashpoint in that conversation, because her death did not fit the stereotype of someone chronically unhoused or disconnected from services. One national account of the tragedy, which described ten Found Dead in N.Y.C., Including a 90-Year-Old Year Old Woman with Dementia, noted that she had dementia, according to Dementia reporting that drew on neighbors’ accounts. Another detailed look at Ellis’s final hours explained that Ellis was one of at least 10 people citywide who died outside or shortly after being found there amid frigid temperatures since Saturday, after she apparently wandered away from her building in Crown Heights, according to Ellis neighbors and officials.
How Fern exposed gaps in NYC’s cold-weather safety net
Winter Storm Fern itself was a classic New York blizzard on paper, dropping more than 10 inches of snow in parts of the city and pushing schools back into remote learning as transit slowed to a crawl. Video from the streets captured 53 minutes of Highlights and an Intro that walked viewers along Broadway, W 48th St, 7th Ave and Bryant Park as snow piled up and the temperature hovered around 14°F (about -10°C), according to a Broadway street walk. Citywide, officials noted that Students were pushed into remote learning and travelers faced the biggest snow totals in the city since 2021, as detailed in a breakdown of how much snow Winter Storm Fern dumped on Jan storm impacts.
What made Fern different was what came after the flakes stopped falling. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday that 10 New Yorkers were found dead out in the cold since Winter Storm Fern, as the city activated a “cold blue” plan that is supposed to ramp up outreach and shelter placements when temperatures plunge, according to Mayor Mamdani. Officials have said they increased outreach efforts after the 10 deaths in New York City were linked to winter weather, describing how teams are now being told to check more frequently on anyone who has dementia and wanders off, according to Officials who briefed the public.
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