At least seven people have died in a devastating winter snowstorm across the United States, leaving millions of homes without power.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) said "life-threatening" weather conditions were underway from Texas to New England, prompting school closures and flight cancellations across the country.
At least two deaths have been reported in Louisiana and five in Texas, Tennessee and Kansas.
According to PowerOutage, more than 800,000 homes were without power as of Sunday afternoon. FlightAware reports that more than 11,000 flights were canceled due to the severe weather.
A winter storm is bringing heavy snowfall, sleet and freezing rain (raindrops freeze on impact) to parts of the United States. The conditions are expected to last for several days. The storm could affect about 180 million people in the United States, more than half of the country's population.
The Louisiana Department of Health said yesterday that two people there have died from hypothermia, a dangerous drop in body temperature caused by extreme cold.
The mayor of Austin, Texas, said one person there had died from exposure to the cold caused by the snowstorm.
Authorities in Kansas say the body of a woman was found covered in snow yesterday afternoon, possibly from exposure to the cold.
Three deaths have been reported in Tennessee due to cold weather.
New York City Mayor Zohrab Mamdani wrote in a post on social media that at least five people died in Tennessee on Saturday. However, the cause of their deaths has not yet been confirmed.
New York Governor Kathy Hocul advised residents to stay indoors. "This is definitely the coldest weather we've seen in years, the biggest winter storm," she said yesterday.
Hokul said that the dire situation that is unfolding could lead to the longest period of cold and the heaviest snowfall in years.
Kathy Hokul also said, "It's bone-chillingly cold and dangerous."
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said yesterday that the state is seeing more snow and less ice than forecast.
According to Bessier, this is not good news for Kentucky.
Meteorologists warn that the biggest danger from the storm is falling snow. Snow can break trees, damage power lines and make roads unsafe.
Authorities in Virginia and Kentucky have already had to deal with hundreds of road accidents.
Canada also saw heavy snowfall and hundreds of flights were canceled. Officials estimate that 15 to 30 centimeters (5 to 11 inches) of snow could fall in the province of Ontario.
A state of emergency has been declared in about half of the states in the United States.
Schools there have been closed, and the US Senate has also postponed a vote scheduled for Monday evening.
Declaring a state of emergency in the capital, Washington, Mayor Muriel Bowser said, "This weekend we are facing the biggest snowstorm in a decade in DC."
Some northern states, such as North and South Dakota and Minnesota, are used to sub-zero temperatures in the winter. However, states like Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee, where such extreme cold is not common, are now experiencing temperatures that are about 15 to 20 degrees below the seasonal average.
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