Death toll rises to 30 as deadly US winter storm leaves thousands without power

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - NEW YORK — At least 30 people have died as a severe winter storm impacted a vast swath of the United States this weekend, with many states facing below-freezing temperatures and no electricity.

The storm, which caused chaos from Texas to the tip of Maine over the weekend, snarled roadways, knocked out power, and buried major cities under a thick blanket of snow.

Some areas in the north-east saw more than 20in (50.8cm) of snow during a 24-hour period, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Canadian officials also said the storm had seriously disrupted southern Ontario.

Roughly two-thirds of the US is gripped by a cold wave, with the Midwest, south and northeast of the country most heavily affected. A new surge of Arctic air is expected to prolong freezing temperatures in areas already blanketed in snow and ice.

Areas north of Pittsburgh saw up to 50 centimetres of snow and felt wind chills as low as -31 Celsius late Monday, according to the US National Weather Service. New York saw its snowiest day in years, with some areas recording up to 38 centimetres of snow.

The storm knocked thousands of flights out of service, disrupting air travel nationwide. On Monday, more than 6,000 flights into, within or out of the US were cancelled, more than 7,000 were delayed, according to tracking website FlightAware.

On Sunday, 45% of US flights were cancelled, the highest rate since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

The severe weather also had a range of on-the-ground impacts, including in a number of southern US states.

Forecasters warned that another winter storm could hit parts of the East Coast this weekend.

As arctic temperatures persist, the death toll rose to at least 30. Victims include two people run over by snowploughs in Massachusetts and Ohio, teenagers killed in fatal sledging accidents in Arkansas and Texas, and a person frozen to death and found covered in snow after she had left a bar in Kansas.

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.

Louisiana's department of health said that two people had died due to hypothermia.

Further north, a total of eight people died in New York City between Friday and Monday morning as temperatures plummeted, according to city officials, .

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

In New York City, officials reported that at least eight people were found dead outdoors.

Heavy snowfall stretching from Arkansas to New England caused widespread travel disruptions, flight cancellations, and school closures.

Hundreds of thousands were left without electricity, with more than 560,000 power outages reported on Monday evening, mostly in the country's south.

In Mississippi, the state's worst ice storm since 1994 was recorded. Authorities delivered cots, blankets, bottled water and generators to warning stations in hard-hit regions.

In Canada, Ottawa and Quebec saw the heaviest impacts from the storm, leading to transport issues and multiple school closures.

Toronto Pearson Airport received 18in of snowfall on Sunday, a new record for the site, according to the CBC.

Meanwhile, in Nashville, Tennessee, electricity was restored to thousands of homes and businesses on Monday, though about 146,000 remained without power. Many hotels were sold out overnight as residents sought to escape their dark and frigid homes. — Agencies

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