Storm Elliott: At least 34 dead as freezing storm sweeps US and knocks out power
Americans face freezing conditions and rolling blackouts this Christmas. Watch ITVX's report
At least 34 people have died in a major winter storm sweeping the United States that has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands over Christmas.
Millions of Americans are hunkering down amid blinding blizzards, biting rains, flooding and life-threatening cold through the holiday period as Storm Elliott hits the country.
By Christmas Day, the death toll had risen to at least 34, as the arctic place trapped some residents inside homes with heaping snow drifts and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the US.
More than 2,360 domestic and international flights were canceled by Christmas Eve, according to the tracking site FlightAware, as roads laden with deep snow also hampered holiday weekend travel.
Forecasters said a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.
Watch ITV News' report as Storm Elliott's treacherous blizzards sweep the United States, while families struggle to travel to their Christmas holidays
Mark Poloncarz, executive of Erie County, home to Buffalo, said ambulances were taking more than three hours to make a single hospital trip and the blizzard may be “the worst storm in our community’s history.”
Two people died in their suburban Cheektowaga, New York, homes Friday when emergency crews could not reach them in time to treat their medical conditions, he said, and another died in Buffalo.
“We can’t just pick up everybody and take you to a warming centre. We don’t have the capability of doing that,” Poloncarz said. “Many, many neighbourhoods, especially in the city of Buffalo, are still impassable.”
On Saturday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that the Buffalo Niagara International Airport will be closed through Monday morning, and almost every fire truck in Buffalo was stranded in the snow.
"No matter how many emergency vehicles we have, they cannot get through the conditions as we speak," Ms Hochul said.
The stormy conditions knocked out power from Maine to Seattle, while a major electricity grid operator warned the 65 million people it serves across the eastern US that rolling blackouts might be required.
Pennsylvania-based PJM Interconnection said power plants were having difficulty operating in the frigid weather and asked residents in 13 states to refrain from unnecessary use of electricity.
Meanwhile, in North Carolina 265,000 customers were without power on Saturday afternoon, according to the power outage website.
They included James Reynolds of Greensboro, who said his best friend and housemate, a 70-year-old with diabetes and severe arthritis, spent the morning bundled beside his kerosene heater.
Among the states where deaths have now been reported are Ohio, Kansas, Vermont, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan and Kentucky.
Officials have said the storm is nearly unprecedented in its scope, stretching from the Great Lakes, near Canada, to the Rio Grande, along the border with Mexico.
Around 60% of the US population have faced a winter weather advisory or warning, as temperatures plummeted drastically below normal, the National Weather Service said.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.