6 Killed as Powerful Winter Storm Batters US, Leaves Millions Without Power

At least six people have died after a massive winter storm swept across large parts of the United States, bringing heavy snow, freezing rain and dangerously icy conditions that crippled transport systems and knocked out power to more than one million people.

The storm hit eastern and southern states on Sunday, plunging temperatures below freezing and intensifying disruption across major cities. States most affected include Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas, where ice buildup snapped power lines, shut down highways and forced widespread closures of schools and businesses.

PowerOutage.us reported that Tennessee recorded the highest number of outages, with about 339,000 customers without electricity by Sunday afternoon. Mississippi had nearly 180,000 customers in the dark, Louisiana close to 150,000, while Texas and Georgia each reported almost 100,000 outages. Emergency crews have been working nonstop to restore electricity.

Heavy snowfall also caused chaos in the Midwest. Ohio cities such as Cincinnati and Columbus recorded between 6 and 10 inches of snow, while Dayton and Springfield saw nearly a foot. Officials urged residents to stay off roads as conditions worsened.

“It is really, really dangerous out there,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said in a video message. “You should be at home unless there is an absolute emergency.”

Several other states were hit by significant snowfall, including Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Parts of North Texas also recorded up to five inches of snow.

The Northeast was not spared, with New Jersey receiving about 10 inches of snow, Pennsylvania nine inches and New York around seven inches.

The storm severely disrupted air travel, leading to more than 16,000 flight cancellations nationwide, with thousands more delayed. Airports in major cities such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC were heavily affected.

Weather forecasters warned that the deep freeze is expected to persist into the early part of the week across many states as the storm continues to linger.