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.

Three Texas siblings who died in an icy pond are among several dozen deaths in U.S. states gripped by frigid cold. Crews scrambled Tuesday to repair power outages in the shivering South. Forecasters warned the winter weather is expected to get worse. Brutal cold lingered after a massive storm dumped deep snow across more than 1,300 miles from Arkansas to New England. Freezing temperatures hovered as far south as Tennessee, Arkansas, and North Carolina, with more record lows forecast down into Florida. More than 500,000 homes and businesses remain without power, with over half the outages in Tennessee and Mississippi.

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.

Forecasters say over half the U.S. population could be affected by snow, ice or bitter cold as a winter storm sweeps across the county. On Friday, schools in Chicago and other cities canceled classes due to extreme cold. Then the storm is forecast to bring snow, sleet, and ice from Texas to New England. Forecasters warn the damage could rival a hurricane, especially in areas hit by ice. More than 1,000 flights were delayed or canceled Friday, with more expected Saturday. People are stocking up on water, food and generators as they prepare for the storm.

A strengthening bomb cyclone is barreling across the northern United States, unleashing severe winter weather in the Midwest and aiming at the East Coast. The storm brought blizzard conditions, treacherous travel and widespread power outages Monday across the Plains and Great Lakes. Forecasters say the storm intensified rapidly, meeting the criteria of what's known as a bomb cyclone. The sharp cold front left parts of the central U.S. waking up to temperatures 50 degrees colder than the day before. The National Weather Service had warned of whiteout conditions beginning Sunday that could make travel impossible in some areas.

Some suburban Houston residents are dealing with cleanup following at least two tornadoes as heavy rain falls around the South and snow in parts of the Midwest. The Texas storm on Monday damaged over 100 homes though no injuries were reported. It came at the start of a busy Thanksgiving travel week in which Americans are closely eyeing the weather. Heavy rain was reported in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia on Tuesday. Meanwhile, snow fell in North Dakota and was expected in parts of the Midwest, with more likely Wednesday in the Great Lakes region. New York's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was expected to be dry but cold.

Powerful storms that killed three people in Mississippi and ripped roofs from buildings in a small Oklahoma town are charging across the nation, threatening more communities in the central to eastern United States with wide-ranging weather. Forecasters also are warning that a Pacific storm was expected to bring widespread rain and mountain snow across California and other parts of the West into Friday. Blizzard conditions in Nebraska and parts of southern Minnesota made travel there dangerous on Wednesday morning. A tornado watch was issued for portions of North Carolina and Virginia until Wednesday evening.