The number of deaths linked to the relentless cold across much of the United States has risen to at least 16.

  

Two homeless men were found dead in Houston, police there announced Wednesday. Chief Art Acevedo said the deaths were believed to be the result of "exposure to frigid weather" but the investigation was ongoing.

  

In Mississippi, 45-year-old Kerry Merritt of Plantersville died Tuesday morning at a Tupelo hospital after being found unresponsive on her porch.

  

In Michigan, a 96-year-old woman died after apparently wandering away from her suburban Detroit home and being overcome by the cold.

  

The Texas, Mississippi and Michigan deaths come on top of at least a dozen others reported earlier.