At least 9 dead, millions without power as winter storm hits US

Picture Courtesy: AP

At least nine people dies, and over a million customers lost power as the severe winter storm hit US on Friday. Holiday travel plans for many people were cancelled due to flight cancellations across the country.

The winter storm which is expected to intensify throughout Friday as it barrels through the Midwest and East – is making for grim road conditions with poor visibility and ice-covered streets. Coastal flooding is also an issue, particularly along the shorelines of the Northeast.

At least 9 deaths have been reported since Wednesday. In north-central Kansas, three people were killed in separate car crashes on Wednesday evening; one death was confirmed to be weather-related, and two were believed to be weather-related but need more investigation, according to Kansas Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Candice Breshears.

In Ohio, four people have died “as a result of weather-related auto accidents” and several others have been injured, according to Gov. Mike DeWine.

According to the website PowerOutage.us, more than one million customers in the US are experiencing power outages amid the winter weather and frigid temperatures. More than 200 million people in the US were under wind chill alerts from the Canadian border to the Mexican border and from Washington state to Florida, with below-zero wind chills expected in the Southeast by Friday.

A separate storm system is bringing heavy mixed precipitation to the Pacific Northwest on Friday. A winter storm warning is in effect for western Washington, including Seattle, until 7 p.m. PST Friday. Additional snowfall of up to 2 inches is possible and ice accumulations could reach a quarter of an inch.