US : Christmas holiday plans were in disarray for millions of Americans on Friday as a historic deadly winter storm wrapped most of the country in bone-chilling temperatures and unleashed heavy blizzards that grounded flights and sparked widespread power cuts.
More than 200 million people — about 60 per cent of the US population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning, the National Weather Service said. The cold came just as people were readying for the holiday weekend and preparing to visit loved ones across the country. At Denver airport, temperatures fell to -31°C.
The weather service’s map “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” forecasters said in a statement on Friday.
More than 5,100 flights within, into or out of America were cancelled on Friday, according to the tracking site FlightAware, causing more mayhem as travellers tried to make it home for the holidays. Passenger rail service was also impacted.
