CNN —
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are waking up in the dark to unlit trees on Christmas Eve, after destructive winds and heavy snow from a winter storm tore down power lines and endangered drivers across the country, killing at least 11 people in its path.
As bone-chilling temperatures continue to grip the US this holiday weekend, the unrelenting storm is pummeling the Midwest and parts of the East with heavy snow, blizzard conditions and even flooding along the Northeast coast. No letup is in sight until the end of Christmas Day.
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At least 11 people have died since Wednesday across four states, a result of how dangerous and life-threatening conditions have been this week over a large swath of the country.
Three people died in separate car crashes in north-central Kansas on Wednesday, Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Candice Breshears said. All three deaths are confirmed to have been weather-related, Breshears noted.
In Kansas City, Missouri, one person died after losing control of their vehicle on icy roads Thursday afternoon, according to the Kansas City Police Department. The vehicle “went down the embankment, over the cement retaining wall and landed upside down” into a creek, police said in a statement.
Four people died in car crashes in Ohio, where others were also injured, Gov. Mike DeWine said.
Kentucky reported three deaths caused by the storm: Two in car crashes and another was a person who was unhoused in Louisville, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The man’s body was found outside with no obvious signs of trauma – an autopsy is required to determine the cause of death, police said.
Snow-covered buildings are seen in Louisville, Kentucky, under freezing temperatures on December 23. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images
‘Your loved ones care more about having you alive’
For days, forecasters and officials have been sounding the alarm on the grim conditions the storm promised to bring, while imploring drivers to stay off the icy, snow-covered roads and other travelers to alter holiday plans for optimal safety.
“Remember your loved ones care more about having you alive and that next Christmas than whether you can make this one,” Beshear told CNN Friday.
“People need to stay off the roads. … Being together is more important than ever, but staying safe is even more important than that,” Beshear added.
The ominous warning comes as the storm continues to bear down with blizzard conditions from the Great Lakes and interior Northeast, bringing the double threat of heavy snow and speedy winds.
Hundreds of drivers across multiple states, including New York, South Dakota and Minnesota were stranded this week and needed rescuing. Some states have closed major highways to deter drivers from getting behind the wheel. Plus, more than 5,000 flights were canceled Friday, and more than 10,000 were delayed.
To make matters worse, even if snowfall stops or slows down, whiteout conditions are likely because winds are forecast to near or surpass 60 mph, resulting in damage and more power outages.
“If you do lose power, it is going to be dangerously cold,” said Jackie Bray, the commissioner of New York’s Homeland Security and Emergency Services, adding people should seek warming shelters provided by some counties. “Please don’t assume that you can weather this cold overnight without heat. You may not be able to.”
So far, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses have no electricity, according to PowerOutage.US, which means millions of residents likely do not have proper heating or hot water as extremely cold temperatures persist Saturday.
New Hampshire, New York and Virginia each have more than 50,000 outages as of early Saturday, while more than 240,000 outages are reported in Maine, the website shows.
Amanda Kelly cleans off snow and ice from her car on Friday, December 23, in Columbus Ohio. Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch/USA Today Network Cars drive in whiteout conditions in Orchard Park, New York, on December 23. Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News/AP A pair of travelers sleep while lines of people pass through a security checkpoint at Denver International Airport. David Zalubowski/AP Snow-covered buildings are seen in Louisville, Kentucky. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images The waters of Lake Erie wash over the shoreline on December 23 in Hamburg, New York. John Normile/Getty Images Snow collects on a bison at Longfield Farm in Goshen, Kentucky, on December 23. Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal/USA Today Network Volunteers welcome a homeless person to a shelter at Broadbent Arena in Louisville on December 23. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images Stones are removed from a road in Westport, Massachusetts, after a storm surge made landfall, flooding many coastal areas on December 23. Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times/AP The Louisville skyline is obscured by steam rising from the Ohio River Friday on Friday, December 23. Matt Stone/The Louisville Courier/USA Today Network Antonio Smothers jumps his vehicle on December 23 in Nashville. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images Rows of headstones at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery are blanketed by drifting snow on Thursday, December 22, in Mandan. Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune/AP Migrants warm themselves by a fire next to the US-Mexico border fence on December 22 in El Paso, Texas. John Moore/Getty Images Robert Arnold puts chains onto the tires of his semitrailer while he waits for the eastbound lane of I-70 to reopen in Silverthorne, Colorado, on December 22. Jason Connolly/AFP/Getty Images A musician departs following a show on Broadway in Nashville on December 22. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images Brady Myers helps turn the Stewpot Community Services day shelter for the unhoused into an emergency overnight shelter in Jackson, Mississippi, on December 22. Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger/USA Today Network Vehicles travel along Interstate 44 on December 22, in St. Louis. Jeff Roberson/AP A person walks through the snow on December 22 in downtown Minneapolis. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/AP A clean car passes a snow-covered car in Des Moines, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP Travelers walk in front of flight information screens at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on December 22. Nam Y. Huh/AP Ice collects on a window in Oklahoma City on December 22. Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman/USA Today Network Bus riders wait at a sheltered stop in Chicago on December 22. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP An accident involving a semi-tractor-trailer blocks the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 in West Des Moines on December 22. Bryon Houlgrave/The Des Moines Register/AP Kids shovel snow off a sidewalk and driveway in Minneapolis on December 22. Abbie Parr/AP Travelers arrive for their flights at O’Hare International Airport on December 22 in Chicago. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images Mist rises above ice flows on the Yellowstone River on December 22 in Paradise Valley, Montana. William Campbell/Getty Images Students walk to school buses after early dismissal at a middle school in Wheeling, Illinois, on December 22. Nam Y. Huh/AP Miguel Salazar clears sidewalks in Denver on December 22. Hyoung Chang/Denver Post/Getty Images Travelers arrive at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on December 21. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/AP Salt is prepared to be loaded onto a truck at the Department of Public Works sanitation yard in Milwaukee on December 21. Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/AP Propane heaters sit next to pens at the City of Mission Animal Shelter in Mission, Texas, on December 21. Joel Martinez/The Monitor/AP Crews de-ice a Southwest Airlines plane before takeoff in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 21. Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald/AP An Iowa Department of Transportation plow clears a road in Iowa City on December 21. Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press Citizen/AP Snow covers homes in Seattle on Tuesday, December 20. Daniel Kim/The Seattle Times/AP In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US Prev Next
Here’s what else you can expect this Christmas Eve:
A powerful winter storm claims at least 11 lives across the US as temperatures plunge, winds howl and power lines fall
