The media, writ large, do hype and monger weather, or anything really, to get eyes and clicks or push narratives they favor. Always been like that. As far as deaths etc (much like some covid stats), we don't get the perspective...like how many people would normally be expected to die in car accidents in the same area and time period. Maybe the numbers aren't far off normal as less people would be driving in that weather. We don't know...