A severe winter storm blanketed much of the central and eastern United States with snow and ice, disrupting travel plans for millions of people and contributing to the deaths of at least five people.
More than 2,300 U.S. flights were canceled and thousands more delayed, according to the tracking website FlightAware.
Meanwhile, nearly 200,000 consumers were without power from Missouri to Virginia.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said the event, the country's first major winter storm of the year, "will quickly weaken eastward into the western Atlantic tonight," but small accumulations of snow will still be possible in some mountain and mid-Atlantic areas.
With the storm, cold temperatures are expected for days, with wind chills below freezing predicted in cities such as Kansas City.
In Washington, several inches of snow did not prevent Congress from convening to certify Donald Trump's election victory, four years after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to overturn his 2020 loss.
President Joe Biden is closely monitoring the severe weather conditions and stands ready to support affected states, a White House spokesman said. | BGNES
