Parts of the Upper Midwest and interior Northeast are still being pummelling by a winter storm with heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions as bone-chilling cold continues to grip the US throughout this holiday weekend. On Christmas eve, while a severe winter storm interrupted holiday travel and left millions of people without power or susceptible to rolling blackouts, a large area of the US and Canada faced dangerously-low temperatures. Here are 10 things to know.

Thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed on December 24-25, and dangerous road conditions forced some people to postpone their Christmas plans.
Christmas Eve saw the loss of electricity of more than 400,000 homes and businesses across the US as a result of an Arctic blast and winter storm that killed at least 16 people and destroyed power lines with devastating winds, heavy snow and dangerously-low temperatures.
On December 23-24, there are spots with heavy snow, up to 2 feet in some locations, and severe gusts, at times exceeding 60 mph, which reduced visibility to almost zero. more than a foot more might fall with winds gusting to 65 mph and temperatures that feel well below zero.
For some areas, winter storm and hard freeze warnings have been issued. It has been suggested that people check on their neighbours, charge their electronics and cell phones, find flashlights and keep tabs on local leaders online.
As a result of hazardous and life-threatening weather across a significant portion of the United States, at least 16 individuals have been killed since December 21 in seven different states.
As of December 24 morning, airlines cancelled close to 2,000 domestic flights after a severe winter storm that caused chaos at airports across America and aggravated hundreds of Christmas travellers. As of December 24 morning, there had been around 4,000 total flight delays inside, into, or out of the United States.
Temperatures could soon drop by as much as 50 degrees in various parts of the United States. The wind chill factor is predicted to be -35, making it feel even colder in places like Des Moines, Iowa, where the temperature was -7 degrees Fahrenheit on December 23.
One of the largest US power outages in years occurred as a result of electricity grids being stressed by the bitterly-cold weather. As the storm moved across the nation early on December 24, some 1.6 million households and businesses from Texas to New England were without electricity.
On December 23, as a result of liquids freezing in pipes and forcing wells to close, the US experienced its largest one-day decline in natural gas production in more than a decade. As temperatures dropped below freezing in major producing regions, including top supplier Texas, supplies of the fuel for heating and power generation across the continental US decreased by over 10 billion cubic feet, or roughly 10%, from the previous day.
People have been urged to stay at home rather than travel in some places since it is far safer to be inside. Even if they lose power and it's only 45 degrees inside while it’s minus 20 wind chill and blinding conditions outside.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sounak Mukhopadhyay

Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer.