A massive snowstorm is pummeling the northeast United States, forcing millions of people to stay home amid strong wind and blizzard warnings, transportation shutdowns, and school and business closures. The storm hit the metropolitan northeast as accumulations from an earlier snowfall had just melted away, except for gray mountainous piles in parking lots and along the side of roads. Officials have declared emergencies from Delaware to Massachusetts, and hundreds of thousands of people are grappling with power failure from downed electrical lines. Even as digging out began, the National Weather Service warned Monday that perilous conditions could persist.

Many U.S. residents are facing another night of below-freezing temperatures and no electricity after a massive winter storm dumped more snow in Northeast and left parts of the South coated in ice. The colossal storm halted air and road traffic in many areas and sent temperatures plunging. At least 26 deaths were reported in states hit by the winter weather. As the work week began, the heaviest snow fell from New York northward into New England. That's after heavy ice snapped branches and power lines in the South, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without electricity. Arctic air was spreading in behind the storm and some communities in New York saw record-breaking subzero temperatures.