Freezing cold, snow, wind and sleet are blasting the northeast and midwest of the United States, while the northwest has been simultaneously blanketed in snow. An estimated 86 million people are currently living under a type of weather alert, according to CNN. National Weather Service (NWS) tweeted earlier: “Our meteorologists are monitoring multiple threats across the CONUS this morning. “More winter weather on the way for the NE, NW, and Great Lakes; rain and flooding in the OH Valley; and strong winds and fire danger in the SW.”
More than 2,000 flights were cancelled by 7.50pm GMT (2.50pm EST) as a major winter storm brought life-threatening snow and ice to the northeastern states.
The extreme winter weather caused power outages for more than 100,000 people from New York City to Minneapolis, according to Accuweather.
Up to twelve inches of snow could hit northern New York State into New England on Tuesday night, the weather forecasters say.
But AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski warned: “12-18 inches of snow is forecast over the northern tier of New England”.
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Meanwhile, Seattle is experiencing its snowiest month in more than 50 years falling three snowstorms in February.
Adding to the woe, the Weather Channel has forecast more snow for the northwest region this week.
Winter Storm Nadia, which has already pounded the Pacific Northwest, will also spread into California as the week progresses.
This will bring heavy rain to California, San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles.
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Fresh snow will also hit the Sierra Nevada range, particularly above 7,000 from Tuesday night moving through into Thursday.
Even Las Vegas has experienced snow smatterings to give a sense of how unusual the weather is.
Weather forecasters are warning people to beware of fallen trees and power outages due to the dangerous weather.
Parts of California could see rising rivers and streams as snowfall melts combining with predicted rainfall.