WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- A powerful winter storm sweeping across the United States on Sunday has killed 11 people and led to massive power outages and flight cancellations, severely disrupting daily life and travel in multiple regions.
Authorities have reported 11 storm-related deaths amid the country's coldest temperatures so far this winter, local media reported.
The storm also knocked out power supplies across the country. More than 820,000 customers were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us, a website tracking real-time power outage data, with southern states including Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana among the hardest hit.
Over 11,500 flights were cancelled on Sunday, data from flight-tracking service FlightAware showed. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport said on its website that all airlines had cancelled departing flights for the day, while 91 percent of flights were cancelled at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
This winter storm began on Friday and moved from the southern part of the country into the Northeast, the U.S. National Weather Service said Saturday night. It has noted that heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain would affect nearly 190 million people -- more than half the U.S. population -- and warned that freezing air and ice accumulation following the storm could prolong its impacts through this week. ■
