NEW YORK, Jan 07 : At least six people have died in a deadly winter storm that has seized a swathe of the United States in its icy grip, leading to mass school closures, travel chaos and power cuts, according to media reports.
Seven US states declared emergencies: Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Arkansas.
More than 2,300 flights have been cancelled, with nearly 9,000 delays also reported owing to the extreme weather caused by the polar vortex of icy cold air that usually circles the North Pole.
Around 190,000 people had no power early on Tuesday across states in the storm’s path, according to Poweroutage.us.
Snow and sleet is forecast to continue through the day in much of the north-eastern US, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
The winter storm prompted federal offices and local schools to close across the Washington DC area
While the precipitation will then dissipate, cold Arctic air is expected to keep conditions icy across a chunk of the country for several more weeks.
In Washington DC – where lawmakers met on Monday to certify Donald Trump’s win in November’s election – about 5-9 inches of snow fell, with up to a foot recorded in parts of nearby Maryland and Virginia.
Washington DC’s weather emergency is declared until Tuesday as a result of the system, which was named Winter Storm Blair by the Weather Channel.
Children who had been due to go back to classes on Monday after the winter holiday break were instead enjoying a snow day as school districts closed from Maryland to Kansas.
In other parts of the US, the winter storm brought with it dangerous road conditions.
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