As of Sunday evening, millions of Americans were hunkered down as a massive winter storm pounded the eastern United States, knocking out power to an estimated 145,000 consumers.
The storm was expected to bring a nasty combination of heavy snows, freezing rain, and high winds to the southeast and coastal mid-Atlantic before moving up to New England and southern Canada, according to the National Weather Service.
The NWS predicted that some regions in the Appalachian mountain range could experience up to one inch of snow per hour through Monday, with slippery conditions persisting into Tuesday.
According to reports in the US media, more than 80 million individuals were affected by winter weather alerts.
According to the website PowerOutage.US, some 235,000 consumers in the southeast had lost power by mid-day Sunday, including more than 150,000 in the Carolinas, though it appeared that some were coming back online by the evening.
In Florida, the storm caused destructive tornadoes and coastal flooding, while freezing weather and blustery winds raised fears in the Carolinas and up through the Appalachians.
Thousands of flights were canceled, and a section of the important interstate route I-95 in North Carolina was closed due to the storm.
According to the FlightAware website, some 3,000 flights inside, into, or out of the United States were canceled by Sunday evening, with another 4,200 delayed.
From Arkansas in the south to Maine on the Canadian border, drivers were cautioned of dangerous road conditions and considerable travel hassles.
On Friday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp proclaimed a state of emergency, and snowplows were on the job clearing the roads by noon.
North Carolina and Virginia have also proclaimed states of emergency.
