Winter storms in US claim at least 37 lives, knocks out power for 1.5 million

A winter storm that has already claimed the lives of at least 37 people across the United States is anticipated to take more victims after trapping some inhabitants inside their homes with towering snow drifts and cutting electricity to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

The storm's size is almost unprecedented, spanning from the Rio Grande near Mexico's border to the Great Lakes in Canada.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures fell sharply below average from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, and almost 60 per cent of the US population was under some type of winter weather alert or warning.

The weather woes of travellers are likely to continue, with hundreds of flights already cancelled and more anticipated after a bomb cyclone—which occurs when atmospheric pressure rapidly drops in a strong storm—formed close to the Great Lakes, causing blizzard conditions, including strong winds and snow—to develop.

About 1,707 domestic and international flights were cancelled on December 25.

With hurricane-force winds and snowfall creating whiteout conditions and impeding emergency response operations, the storm unleashed its full fury on Buffalo.

The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, stated that nearly every fire engine in the city was stranded on December 24 and urged residents to observe the ongoing traffic ban in the area on December 25.

According to officials, the airport will be closed until December 27. The Buffalo Niagara International Airport received 109 centimetres of snow, according to the National Weather Service, on December 25.

Two people died on December 23 in their suburban Cheektowaga, New York, homes due to their medical issues, as medical personnel could not reach them. County Executive Mark Poloncarz said there could be additional fatalities as 10 more people, including six people in Buffalo, perished in Erie County as a result of the storm.