US winter storm causes deaths, power outages, flight delays

A winter storm has battered a large swath of the United States, killing several people and causing thousands of flights to be canceled or delayed due to bad weather.

The storm caused chaos over the weekend from Texas to the tip of Maine, snarling roads, knocking out power and leaving major cities buried under deep snow.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), parts of the Northeast received more than 20 inches (50.8 centimeters) of snow in 24 hours.

Canadian officials also said the storm severely disrupted southern Ontario.

Snow is expected to continue to fall in Canada’s eastern Maritimes on Tuesday, according to BBC Weather.

Lake-effect snow showers are expected to persist around the Great Lakes for the remainder of the week, although the storm is moving away from the United States.

It will remain very cold across central and eastern North America over the next few days, with conditions expected to intensify into the weekend, when another major winter storm could hit the eastern United States.

On Monday, more than 6,000 flights in and out of the United States were canceled and more than 7,000 were delayed, according to tracking website FlightAware.

The severe weather also had a range of local impacts, including in some southern U.S. states.

According to PowerOutage.com, more than 500,000 customers were without power early Tuesday morning. The worst-affected state was Tennessee, where the city of Nashville experienced a severe freeze, plunging residents into the cold and darkness.

“There are a lot of trees down and power lines blocking the roads,” Joy Flores, vice president of homeless shelters at the Nashville Rescue Mission, told the BBC. Her center is fielding calls from residents without power.

Flores said the roads were icy and impassable and her home had “no heat, no internet and no coffee.”

A teenage girl has died and another is in critical condition following a sledding accident in Texas, the Frisco Police Department announced.

In North Carolina, a man was found dead on the side of a highway in Buncombe County, and authorities are investigating whether his death was weather-related.

The Louisiana Department of Health said two people have died from hypothermia.

Further north, a total of eight people died in New York City from Friday to Monday morning as temperatures plummeted, officials said.

As of Monday morning, 11.4 inches of snow had fallen in the city’s Central Park.

Other deaths were reported in Massachusetts, Kansas and Pennsylvania.

As of Monday evening, at least 20 deaths were linked to cold temperatures and heavy snowfall, although officials said it was too early to determine the exact cause in some cases.

In Canada, Ottawa and Quebec were hardest hit by the storm, causing traffic problems and multiple school closures.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Toronto Pearson Airport received 18 inches of snow on Sunday, setting a new record for the airport.

Relief may not come soon. The “potential is increasing” for another winter storm starting Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Such an event could bring very cold temperatures to the eastern United States and bring “widespread heavy precipitation.”

The U.S. Weather Service warned that forecasters don’t yet know the potential path of the storm or where its impact will be greatest.

Additional reporting by Gabriella Pomeroy.