US winter storm: Icy blast hits 200 million Americans - BBC

Some 200 cardinal Americans are feeling the icy grip of a monolithic wintertime tempest that has been linked to astatine slightest 12 deaths up of the vacation weekend.

More than 1.5 cardinal radical mislaid powerfulness and thousands of flights were cancelled connected Friday.

The immense tempest extends much than 2,000 miles (3,200km) from Texas to Quebec.

A weaponry cyclone, erstwhile atmospheric unit plummets, has brought blizzard conditions to the Great Lakes connected the US-Canada border.

In Canada, Ontario and Quebec were bearing the brunt of the Arctic blast, with powerfulness chopped to hundreds of thousands.

Much of the remainder of the country, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, was nether utmost acold and wintertime tempest warnings.

The US National Weather Service (NWS) said its Friday representation "depicts 1 of the top extents of wintertime upwind warnings and advisories ever".

Temperatures successful Elk Park, Montana, dropped to -50F (-45C), portion the municipality of Hell, Michigan, has frozen over.

It was 1F (-17C) successful the snow-covered assemblage connected Friday night. Emily, a bartender astatine Smitty's Hell Saloon, told the BBC: "It's beauteous acold here, but we're having a hellhole of a time."

Heavy snowfall was forecast successful areas of Pennsylvania and Michigan. Buffalo, New York, was expecting astatine slightest 35in (89cm). More than 8 cardinal radical remained nether blizzard warnings, said the NWS.

Coastal flooding has been seen successful New England, New York and New Jersey.

In the Pacific Northwest, immoderate residents ice-skated connected frozen streets successful Seattle and Portland.

Even the usually milder confederate states of Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Georgia were experiencing hard-freeze warnings.

A fig of the storm-related fatalities person progressive roadworthy postulation accidents, including a 50-car pile-up successful Ohio that killed 2 motorists.

Travel problems crossed the state were being exacerbated by a shortage of snowfall plough operators, with debased wage rates being blamed.

More than 5,600 US flights were cancelled connected Friday, according to the tracking tract FlightAware, arsenic flyers battled to marque it location for Christmas.

By Friday nighttime 1 cardinal customers had nary energy crossed the US, according to PowerOutage.us.

Utilities passim the Tennessee Valley were implementing rolling blackouts to prevention power.

The NWS says much than 100 regular acold somesthesia records could beryllium tied oregon breached implicit the adjacent fewer days. Decades-old records person already been matched:

Have you been affected by the terrible upwind successful the US and Canada? Please email us: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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