Gov. Jeff Landry urged residents in north and central Louisiana to stay off the roads and use warming centers as freezing temperatures lingered in parts of the state Monday and tens of thousands of households remained without power.

“We are still experiencing and going to continue to experience some bitter cold temperatures,” Landry said during a press conference at the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. “The good news is that the rain and the sleet is gone.”

State officials said there have been at least three deaths related to the extreme weather, which brought snow and ice to parts of Louisiana over the weekend. Two people died of hypothermia and a third man died of carbon monoxide poisoning, said Bruce Greenstein, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health. The agency is awaiting word from the coroner to confirm that two additional people died of hypothermia, he said.

The man who died from carbon monoxide poisoning was running a generator inside his garage, Greenstein said, warning Louisianans to keep generators at least 20 feet away from their homes. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that is present when fuel is burned.

Officials said they typically see an increase in fire-related deaths during extreme cold weather. They urged residents to take care when using items such as space heaters.

The state is investigating its 13th fire fatality of the year, said Bryan Adams, Louisiana’s state fire marshal. Adams said it was unprecedented to have that number of deaths this early in the year and reminded Louisianans to plug space heaters directly into power outlets and keep them 3 to 5 feet away from flammable items such as blankets and curtains.

As of early Monday afternoon, the state had opened 76 warming shelters and was working to get 14 more up and running, said Greenstein. Anyone in need of a warm place to stay could visit the shelters, which will remain open overnight, he said.

Below freezing temperatures were expected to continue in much of Louisiana over the next several nights, said Jay Grymes, the state climatologist.

“The dangerous and potentially deadly cold will continue through the week. In fact for today a good bit of north Louisiana will not get above freezing,” he said. “We could see a reinforcing surge of Arctic air this upcoming weekend that could take Louisiana back down into the teens for Saturday and Sunday morning.”

About 1,500 employees with the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development were working to reopen roads where they could, Landry said, warning drivers to beware of icy road conditions and stay off the roads if possible.

Some residents were expected to remain without power until at least Thursday.

Phillip May, president of Entergy, said the company planned to restore power by Wednesday for 90% of affected customers in areas without road access issues, which applied primarily to people along the Interstate 20 corridor, May said.

For those in areas with road access issues, 90% of affected customers would see their power restored by Thursday, he said.

“Ninety percent means that most of those customers will be restored before that. It also means that some customers will linger on into a few more days if they have very significant damage,” May said. “We have seen extreme damage due to ice accumulation particularly in that corridor along the I-20 and then moving up to that northeast portion of the state.”

Officials encouraged people to check on their neighbors’ safety and bring their pets and plants inside.

Landry encouraged Louisianans to visit getagameplan.org for more information about how to stay safe during the extreme weather.