Snow hits part of the East Coast, and temperatures will slowly rise in outage-stricken Texas

Although power is coming back to many homes after freezing temperatures knocked it out for days, millions of Texans still face related water service disruptions Friday.

About 14.6 million Texans, nearly half the state's population, faced disruptions in water service as of Friday -- many of whom were under boil-water advisories -- the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said.

Power outages had wreaked havoc on water supplies, in part because of frozen and burst water pipes, disabled water treatment plants and a lack of water pressure. Bursting pipes also have damaged numerous homes and businesses.

As for electricity, about 190,000 homes and businesses in Texas still were without power Friday afternoon, down from 4.5 million at one point earlier in the week, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.

A deep freeze starting Sunday had crippled utilities' power generation, sending residents scrambling for alternative heating through generators, fireplaces, living in running cars, or sheltering in powered warming centers or businesses.

Elsewhere in the country, about 400,000 other customers were without power Friday morning, including about 100,000 in Mississippi.

President Joe Biden spoke with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday and promised the federal government will work with state and local authorities to bring relief and address the critical needs of the families suffering because of the weather.

Texas resident Ehren Williamson's power and water was recently restored, he told CNN on Thursday. But now Williamson had to worry about finding food to eat and drinking water because of a boil-water advisory.

"We went to multiple H-E-B (stores) and searched for about six to eight hours Tuesday for food," he told CNN by phone from Pflugerville.

On Thursday, Williamson waited in line for an hour at an H-E-B. Once inside the store, he found no water.

"We had no warning," he said. "We were given the impression that it wasn't going to be bad. I didn't even see the rolling blackout warnings. It just went dark."

Had he been warned, he said he would have stocked up on food, water and a backup generator.

Texas is not the only state feeling the fury of the winter weather.

In Wayne, Pennsylvania, people were scrambling Friday morning to clear slushy snow after more than 10 inches fell in the area Thursday, according to CNN affiliate KYW-TV.

In North Carolina, where some areas were hit by an ice storm Thursday, some school districts in the Piedmont Triad area canceled classes or moved to online instruction Friday, according to CNN affiliate WXII. A few schools still planned to have in-person learning, but intended to start two or three hours later than usual.

In Winston-Salem, a number of vehicles were crushed in a parking lot when a tree got uprooted and fell during Thursday's ice storm, WXII reported.

"It kind of sounded like somebody blew off some dynamite the way it came down and just hit real hard," resident Hope Woods told WXII. "We were brushing our teeth and I was like 'OK I hear a bunch of commotion.' So we look out the window and there's this giant tree crushed on all the cars."

In Philadelphia, a resident was offering free rides in his SUV to essential workers during Thursday's wintry conditions, especially those in the health care sector, according to CNN affiliate WPVI.

Ian Poush has been driving doctors, nurses, or any medical support staff who need help getting to work or home from their shifts, but can't navigate the icy roads.

"Your regular hospital staff that needed to be there, your maintenance staff, your security guards, they're essential as well. Yes, they're not directly treating patients, but the doctors and nurses need them there," Poush told WPVI.

From Friday night into Saturday morning, parts of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi are scheduled to be under a hard freeze warning, indicating it could be so cold that more water lines could break.

But highs will creep above freezing in most of those areas, and the air will gradually warm over the weekend. And by Wednesday, highs are expected to range from the 60s to the 80s in much of Texas