The massive winter storm pummeling portions of the United States has escalated into a “bomb cyclone,” and 60% of the population is under a winter weather alert.

At least 17 individuals have perished in the United States as a result of a winter storm that has brought temperatures as low as -45C. (-49F).

More than 200 million people, or roughly sixty percent of the U.S. population, are under some type of weather warning or advisory, and the extreme cold is predicted to linger over the Christmas holiday.

As the storm began on Wednesday, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported that three persons were killed in separate automobile incidents caused by drivers losing control of their vehicles on slippery roadways.

According to the National Weather Service, frostbite is likely in less than five minutes in interior states with temperatures as low as -45.6C (-50F) in Montana and -38C (-37F) in Des Moines, Iowa.

Parts of the Great Lakes region, which includes lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, continue to experience heavy snow and blizzard conditions, with up to 4 feet of snow forecast on the eastern shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

Friday morning, at least 1.4 million homes and businesses were without electricity due to downed trees and power lines, but by Friday evening, this figure had decreased to roughly 550,000.

Biden: “This is a grave matter”

According to the website poweroutage.us, the states most severely affected were Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina, followed by Tennessee, New York, Maryland, and Connecticut.

On Friday, more than 5,000 flights into, within, and out of the United States were canceled, and there is a rush to open adequate emergency shelters for the homeless and those without electricity at home.

Some isolated Native American tribes, such as the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, are also receiving firewood as a result of urgent efforts.

The tribal president, Frank Star Comes Out, characterized the efforts thus far as “one hell of a struggle.”

US President Joe Biden stated, “This is no snow day from your childhood; this is real business.

Hundreds of flights have been delayed or canceled in Canada due to a severe storm, and hundreds of thousands of homes are without electricity.

Sergeant Kerry Schmidt of the Ontario Provincial Officers stated that police have received reports of up to one hundred automobiles engaged in various collisions that have closed a major roadway near London, Ontario.