By Darren Lyn
HOUSTON, US (AA) - At least 33 people have died as of late Wednesday from severe winter storms that have put most of the US in a deep freeze.
Many of the nearly three dozen deaths reported so far are because of weather-related circumstances such as car accidents due to icy roads and hypothermia caused by near sub-freezing temperatures, according to multiple media outlets.
Heavy snowfall and freezing rain have blanketed much of the Pacific Northwest, shutting down roads and causing power outages to nearly 100,000 residents, according to the website PowerOutage.us.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that in addition to the ice storms, there are more severe winter weather conditions on the way.
"The heaviest period of snow with this storm has yet to arrive," said the NWS in Spokane, Washington.
"Heavy snows (1-2+ feet) are expected through Friday across the Cascades and Northern Rockies which will make for dangerous travel," the NWS continued, adding that a quarter-inch of ice could coat the ground in Portland, Oregon.
Weather alerts are in place in southern states such as Mississippi, Florida and Tennessee as well as states in the northeast such as New York, Connecticut and Maine.
The National Weather service said lake-effect snow will continue in Mississippi, while tornadoes touched down in Florida. In Tennessee, 10 million residents have been asked to conserve energy to prevent power outages due to near sub-zero temperatures closing in because of the wind chill.
The NWS said New York and Connecticut could see up to 5 inches (12 centimeters) of snow by Friday. Buffalo, New York has already gotten 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snowfall and could see that amount double in the next 24 to 48 hours. Maine is also bracing for additional snowfall as well as flood warnings and the arctic blast is expected to bring possible sub-zero wind chill temperatures.
The winter storms have caused chaos on highways with overturned semi-trucks and traffic accidents due to heavy snowfall and icy road conditions. In addition, more than 10,000 flights have been delayed with nearly 3,000 cancellations so far, with more delays and cancellations expected as the storms continue to wreak havoc through the end of the week.