A powerful storm has spawned tornadoes in the southern US and brought heavy snowfall and other extreme weather across the US and parts of Canada.
According to reports, the storm has injured several people in Texas and damaged buildings, and around 9,000 US flights were delayed on Monday and Tuesday as the storm churned across the country.
The weather has also closed down roads in some western states that are expecting up to 2ft (60cm) of snow.
The storm could affect residents in nearly every state in the contiguous US, experts said.
“It’s a fairly vigorous storm system,” said Rich Otto, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center. “This one is a little larger than your average winter storm.”
“Folks should stay home during the day [on Tuesday] if they live up north,” he added.
The worst of the weather began on Monday night and was expected to continue into Wednesday, hitting the central and northern High Plains, a region of the US that includes eastern Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska, Mr Otto said.
These states are expected to see gusty winds over 40mph (64km/h) and heavy snowfall.
More than 20 million people were under severe weather advisories in the US on Tuesday.
Blizzard warnings from the National Weather Service were also in effect for all of those states, as well as Colorado. Those are triggered by winds of at least 35mph accompanied by heavy snowfall.
Heavy snowfall combined with strong wind gusts will create low visibility and “treacherous” travel conditions, Mr Otto said.
BBC/Taiwo Akinola
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