Dangerously cold temperatures settled over a wide swath of the U.S. and Canada on Saturday as a massive winter storm upended road and air travel at the start of the Christmas holiday and left millions without power or facing rolling blackouts.
Temperatures will be 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit below normal across much of the central and eastern U.S., the National Weather Service said, and in parts of the Midwest snow totals have reached or are near record levels. Significant lake effect snow along with blizzard conditions slammed parts of the Great Lakes, while some 3,000 miles away in the Pacific Northwest, moisture interacting with Arctic air brought hazardous conditions, the NWS said.
Thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed, according to tracking site FlightAware, and road travel for those seeking to visit family or friends over the holiday weekend has been treacherous, forcing some to cancel Christmas plans.
