America is facing the coldest Christmas in modern memory as at least 34 people have died and more than 125,000 homes are still without power as storm Elliot maintained its icy grip on the country, writes Theindependent.co.uk
More than 1,700 flights were cancelled in the US as of Sunday morning, according to Flightaware.com. That number is down from the 3,488 flights cancelled on Saturday.
Thousands were left stranded at airports on Christmas Eve and 800,000 customers were without power on Saturday afternoon, with the eastern states being hit the hardest.
Officials in Buffalo say that 7 people were killed in the city, with people found dead in cars and snowdrifts.
And powerful winds stretched from the Canadian border south to the Rio Grande, Gulf Coast and central Florida, and from the Pacific Northwest to the Eastern Seaboard. Wind chill is driving temperatures to minus 40 degrees in some parts of western states.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Saturday that she would pursue a federal disaster declaration to streamline the process of getting extra resources to the region.
