AP

Massive winter storm brings rolling blackouts, power outages

Dec 22, 2022, 2:58 PM | Updated: Dec 23, 2022, 4:48 pm

An American Airlines plane is de-iced as high winds whip around 7.5 inches of new snow at Minneapol...

An American Airlines plane is de-iced as high winds whip around 7.5 inches of new snow at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Temperatures plunged far and fast Thursday as a winter storm formed ahead of Christmas weekend, promising heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds across a broad swath of the country and complicating holiday travel. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)

(David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)


              An American Airlines plane is de-iced as high winds whip around 7.5 inches of new snow at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Temperatures plunged far and fast Thursday as a winter storm formed ahead of Christmas weekend, promising heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds across a broad swath of the country and complicating holiday travel. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)
            
              Charles Zajicek uses a power sweeper to clear snow off the sidewalk Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 in downtown Minneapolis.  Temperatures plunged far and fast Thursday as a winter storm formed ahead of Christmas weekend, promising heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds across a broad swath of the country and complicating holiday travel. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)
            
              Rocks thrown up by the high surf and wind cover East Beach Road in Westport, Mass., on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 after a storm surge made landfall across the SouthCoast flooding many coastal areas. (Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times via AP)
            
              Frost forms on a storm window as temperatures remain below zero Fahrenheit during a blizzard warning, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)
            
              Dean Stahman, a Brattleboro, Vt., resident, clears off some slush and water from his driveway as a windy wet wintry mix slammed into the area, causing downed power lines and localized flooding on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
            
              A wave slams into the rocks at Portland Head Light, Maine, during a powerful winter storm, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
            
              Steam rises off of Lake Michigan as morning temperatures remain below zero with heavy winds Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Milwaukee.  Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
            
              Water floods a street during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              About 5 inches of snow and subzero temperatures continued their gripped on the Cincinnati area as a "bomb cyclone" Arctic air blast moved through much of the country, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (Kareem Elgazzar /The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
            
              The Firestone family makes their way across Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, N.Y. after stocking up on supplies at the grocery store, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions.(Derek Gee /The Buffalo News via AP)
            
              A passenger check flight departure schedules, some showing cancellations, at the Delta terminal at Laguardia Airport, Friday Dec. 23, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
            
              Water floods a restaurant terrace during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              The temperature is displayed on Main Street in downtown Blacksburg, Va., on Friday Dec. 23 2022. (Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP)
            
              Mark Sorter clears snow from a downtown ice skating rink, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
            An American Airlines plane is de-iced as high winds whip around 7.5 inches of new snow at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Temperatures plunged far and fast Thursday as a winter storm formed ahead of Christmas weekend, promising heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds across a broad swath of the country and complicating holiday travel. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)
            
              Charles Zajicek uses a power sweeper to clear snow off the sidewalk Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 in downtown Minneapolis.  Temperatures plunged far and fast Thursday as a winter storm formed ahead of Christmas weekend, promising heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds across a broad swath of the country and complicating holiday travel. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)
            
              Rocks thrown up by the high surf and wind cover East Beach Road in Westport, Mass., on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 after a storm surge made landfall across the SouthCoast flooding many coastal areas. (Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times via AP)
            
              Frost forms on a storm window as temperatures remain below zero Fahrenheit during a blizzard warning, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)
            
              Dean Stahman, a Brattleboro, Vt., resident, clears off some slush and water from his driveway as a windy wet wintry mix slammed into the area, causing downed power lines and localized flooding on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
            
              A wave slams into the rocks at Portland Head Light, Maine, during a powerful winter storm, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
            
              Steam rises off of Lake Michigan as morning temperatures remain below zero with heavy winds Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Milwaukee.  Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
            
              Water floods a street during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              About 5 inches of snow and subzero temperatures continued their gripped on the Cincinnati area as a "bomb cyclone" Arctic air blast moved through much of the country, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (Kareem Elgazzar /The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
            
              The Firestone family makes their way across Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, N.Y. after stocking up on supplies at the grocery store, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions.(Derek Gee /The Buffalo News via AP)
            
              A passenger check flight departure schedules, some showing cancellations, at the Delta terminal at Laguardia Airport, Friday Dec. 23, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
            
              Water floods a restaurant terrace during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              The temperature is displayed on Main Street in downtown Blacksburg, Va., on Friday Dec. 23 2022. (Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP)
            
              Mark Sorter clears snow from a downtown ice skating rink, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
            
              An American Airlines plane is de-iced as high winds whip around 7.5 inches of new snow at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Temperatures plunged far and fast Thursday as a winter storm formed ahead of Christmas weekend, promising heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds across a broad swath of the country and complicating holiday travel. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)
            
              Charles Zajicek uses a power sweeper to clear snow off the sidewalk Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 in downtown Minneapolis.  Temperatures plunged far and fast Thursday as a winter storm formed ahead of Christmas weekend, promising heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds across a broad swath of the country and complicating holiday travel. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)
            
              Rocks thrown up by the high surf and wind cover East Beach Road in Westport, Mass., on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 after a storm surge made landfall across the SouthCoast flooding many coastal areas. (Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times via AP)
            
              Frost forms on a storm window as temperatures remain below zero Fahrenheit during a blizzard warning, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)
            
              Dean Stahman, a Brattleboro, Vt., resident, clears off some slush and water from his driveway as a windy wet wintry mix slammed into the area, causing downed power lines and localized flooding on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
            
              A wave slams into the rocks at Portland Head Light, Maine, during a powerful winter storm, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
            
              Steam rises off of Lake Michigan as morning temperatures remain below zero with heavy winds Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Milwaukee.  Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
            
              Water floods a street during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              About 5 inches of snow and subzero temperatures continued their gripped on the Cincinnati area as a "bomb cyclone" Arctic air blast moved through much of the country, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (Kareem Elgazzar /The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
            
              The Firestone family makes their way across Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, N.Y. after stocking up on supplies at the grocery store, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions.(Derek Gee /The Buffalo News via AP)
            
              A passenger check flight departure schedules, some showing cancellations, at the Delta terminal at Laguardia Airport, Friday Dec. 23, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
            
              Water floods a restaurant terrace during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              The temperature is displayed on Main Street in downtown Blacksburg, Va., on Friday Dec. 23 2022. (Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP)
            
              Mark Sorter clears snow from a downtown ice skating rink, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
            
              An American Airlines plane is de-iced as high winds whip around 7.5 inches of new snow at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Temperatures plunged far and fast Thursday as a winter storm formed ahead of Christmas weekend, promising heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds across a broad swath of the country and complicating holiday travel. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)
            
              Charles Zajicek uses a power sweeper to clear snow off the sidewalk Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 in downtown Minneapolis.  Temperatures plunged far and fast Thursday as a winter storm formed ahead of Christmas weekend, promising heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds across a broad swath of the country and complicating holiday travel. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)
            
              Rocks thrown up by the high surf and wind cover East Beach Road in Westport, Mass., on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 after a storm surge made landfall across the SouthCoast flooding many coastal areas. (Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times via AP)
            
              Frost forms on a storm window as temperatures remain below zero Fahrenheit during a blizzard warning, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)
            
              Dean Stahman, a Brattleboro, Vt., resident, clears off some slush and water from his driveway as a windy wet wintry mix slammed into the area, causing downed power lines and localized flooding on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
            
              A wave slams into the rocks at Portland Head Light, Maine, during a powerful winter storm, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
            
              Steam rises off of Lake Michigan as morning temperatures remain below zero with heavy winds Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Milwaukee.  Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
            
              Water floods a street during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              About 5 inches of snow and subzero temperatures continued their gripped on the Cincinnati area as a "bomb cyclone" Arctic air blast moved through much of the country, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (Kareem Elgazzar /The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
            
              The Firestone family makes their way across Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, N.Y. after stocking up on supplies at the grocery store, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions.(Derek Gee /The Buffalo News via AP)
            
              A passenger check flight departure schedules, some showing cancellations, at the Delta terminal at Laguardia Airport, Friday Dec. 23, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
            
              Water floods a restaurant terrace during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              The temperature is displayed on Main Street in downtown Blacksburg, Va., on Friday Dec. 23 2022. (Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP)
            
              Mark Sorter clears snow from a downtown ice skating rink, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
            
              Brooks Payne photographs flood waters during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Water floods a street during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Water floods a parking lot on Long Wharf during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Water floods a restaurant terrace during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Brooks Payne photographs flood waters during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Water floods a street during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Water floods a parking lot on Long Wharf during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Water floods a restaurant terrace during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Rocks thrown up by the high surf and wind cover East Beach Road in Westport, Mass., on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 after a storm surge made landfall across the SouthCoast flooding many coastal areas. (Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times via AP)
            
              Frost forms on a storm window as temperatures remain below zero Fahrenheit during a blizzard warning, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)
            
              Dean Stahman, a Brattleboro, Vt., resident, clears off some slush and water from his driveway as a windy wet wintry mix slammed into the area, causing downed power lines and localized flooding on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
            
              A wave slams into the rocks at Portland Head Light, Maine, during a powerful winter storm, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
            
              Steam rises off of Lake Michigan as morning temperatures remain below zero with heavy winds Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Milwaukee.  Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
            
              Water floods a street during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              About 5 inches of snow and subzero temperatures continued their gripped on the Cincinnati area as a "bomb cyclone" Arctic air blast moved through much of the country, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (Kareem Elgazzar /The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
            
              The Firestone family makes their way across Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, N.Y. after stocking up on supplies at the grocery store, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions.(Derek Gee /The Buffalo News via AP)
            
              A passenger check flight departure schedules, some showing cancellations, at the Delta terminal at Laguardia Airport, Friday Dec. 23, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
            
              Water floods a restaurant terrace during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              The temperature is displayed on Main Street in downtown Blacksburg, Va., on Friday Dec. 23 2022. (Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP)
            
              Mark Sorter clears snow from a downtown ice skating rink, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
            
              Brooks Payne photographs flood waters during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Water floods a street during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Water floods a parking lot on Long Wharf during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              Water floods a restaurant terrace during high tide on Long Wharf, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
            
              A person leaps over a puddle of water and slush as rain falls in Montreal, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, as a storm system bears down on the region.  (Graham Hughes /The Canadian Press via AP)
            
              Frost crystals decorate a frozen pond at Pioneer Park in Walla Walla, Wash., Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin via AP)
            
              Travelers wait in line to check-in for their flights at Terminal 1 ahead of the Christmas Holiday at MSP Airport in Bloomington, Minn., on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (Kerem Yücel /Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
            
              Travelers unload from cars Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 at Terminal 1 of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
            
              Information signs are seen Terminal 3 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Frigid air is moving through the central United States to the east, with windchill advisories affecting about 135 million people over the coming days, weather service meteorologist Ashton Robinson Cook said Thursday. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
            
              American Airlines flight information screens display flight information, including canceled and delayed flights, at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
            
              A man clears snow off a sidewalk Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
            
              "Orange tent project" volunteer Morgan Mcluckie, left, speaks with unhoused person Peter Zielinski after giving him bottles of propane to use with his portable heater as cold and snowy weather moves in Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Chicago. Officially the nonprofit "Feeding People Through Plants," founder Andy Robledo set out to find unhoused people and give them large orange tents used for ice fishing to replace other tents and shelters that are inadequate for severe winter weather. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
            
              A dog walker named Courtney walks with her dogs near Lake of the Isles Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
            
              A skier makes her way across Lake of the Isles Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
            
              Travelers wait in line to check-in for their flights at Terminal 1 ahead of the Christmas Holiday at MSP Airport in Bloomington, Minn., on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (Kerem Yücel /Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
            
              An Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) plow drives along Riverside Drive as snow falls during a blizzard warning, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Tens of millions of Americans endured bone-chilling temperatures, blizzard conditions, power outages and canceled holiday gatherings Friday from a winter storm that forecasters said was nearly unprecedented in its scope, exposing about 60% of the U.S. population to some sort of winter weather advisory or warning.

More than 200 million people were under an advisory or warning on Friday, the National Weather Service said. The weather service’s map “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” forecasters said.

Power outages have left about 1.4 million homes and businesses in the dark, according to the website PowerOutage, which tracks utility reports. The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, ended its rolling blackouts Friday afternoon but continued to urge homes and businesses to conserve power. In Georgia, hundreds of people in Atlanta and northern parts of the state were without power and facing the possibility of sub-zero wind chills without heat.

And nearly 5,000 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled Friday, according to the tracking site FlightAware, causing more mayhem as travelers try to make it home for the holidays.

“We’ve just got to stay positive,” said Wendell Davis, who plays basketball with a team in France and was waiting at O’Hare in Chicago on Friday after a series of flight cancellations.

The huge storm stretched from border to border. In Canada, WestJet canceled all flights Friday at Toronto Pearson International Airport, beginning at 9 a.m. as meteorologists in the country warned of a potential once-in-a-decade weather event.

And in Mexico, migrants waited near the U.S. border in unusually cold temperatures as they awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether and when to lift pandemic-era restrictions that prevent many from seeking asylum.

Forecasters said a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.

Multiple highways were closed and crashes claimed at least six lives, officials said. At least two people died in a massive pileup involving some 50 vehicles on the Ohio Turnpike. A Kansas City, Missouri, driver was killed Thursday after skidding into a creek, and three others died Wednesday in separate crashes on icy northern Kansas roads.

Michigan also faced a deluge of crashes, including one involving nine semitrailers.

Brent Whitehead said it took him 7.5 hours __ instead of the usual six __ to drive from his home near Minneapolis to his parents’ home outside Chicago on Thursday in sometimes icy conditions.

“Thank goodness I had my car equipped with snow tires,” he said.

Activists also were rushing to get homeless people out of the cold. Nearly 170 adults and children were keeping warm early Friday in Detroit at a shelter and a warming center that are designed to hold 100 people.

“This is a lot of extra people” but it wasn’t an option to turn anyone away, said Faith Fowler, the executive director of Cass Community Social Services, which runs both facilities.

In Chicago, Andy Robledo planned to spend the day organizing efforts to check on people without housing through his nonprofit, Feeding People Through Plants. Robledo and volunteers build tents modeled on ice-fishing tents, including a plywood subfloor.

“It’s not a house, it’s not an apartment, it’s not a hotel room. But it’s a huge step up from what they had before,” Robledo said.

In Portland, Oregon, nearly 800 people slept at five emergency shelters on Thursday night, as homeless outreach teams fanned out to distributed cold-weather survival gear. Shelters called for volunteers amid high demand and staffing issues. Employees were laid low by flu or respiratory symptoms or kept from work by icy roads, officials said.

DoorDash and Uber Eats suspended delivery service in some states, and bus service was disrupted in places like Seattle.

The power ceased at Jaime Sheehan’s Maryland bakery for about 90 minutes Friday, shutting off the convection oven and stilling the mixer she needed to make butter cream.

“Thankfully, all of the orders that were going out today already finished yesterday,” she said a few moments before the power returned.

At about the same time, Corey Newcomb and his family were entering their sixth hour without power at their home in the small town of Phenix, Virginia.

“We are coping and that’s about it,” Newcomb said in a Facebook message.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said she was deploying the National Guard to haul timber to the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes and help with snow removal.

“We have families that are way out there that we haven’t heard from in two weeks,” Wayne Boyd, chief of staff to the Rosebud Sioux president, said.

Fearing that some are running out of food, the tribe was hoping to get a helicopter on Saturday to check on the stranded.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe, meanwhile, was using snowmobiles to reach members who live at the end of miles-long dirt roads.

“It’s been one heck of a fight so far,” said tribal President Frank Star Comes Out.

On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Harlie Young was huddled with five children and her 58-year-old father around a wood stove as 12-foot (3.6-meter) snow drifts blocked the house.

“We’re just trying to look on the bright side that they’re still coming and they didn’t forget us,” she said Friday, as the temperature plunged to frigid lows.

The weather service is forecasting the coldest Christmas in more than two decades in Philadelphia, where school officials shifted classes online Friday.

Atop New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the tallest peak in the Northeast, the wind topped 150 mph (241 kph).

In Boston, rain combined with a high tide, sent waves over the seawall at Long Wharf and flooded some downtown streets. It was so bad in Vermont that Amtrak canceled service for the day, and nonessential state offices were closing early.

“I’m hearing from crews who are seeing grown trees ripped out by the roots,” Mari McClure, president of Green Mountain Power, the state’s largest utility, said at a news conference.

Calling it a “kitchen sink storm,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency. In parts of New York City, tidal flooding inundated roads, homes and businesses Friday morning, with police trudging through knee-deep water to pull stranded motorists to safety in Queens.

In Iowa, sports broadcaster Mark Woodley became a Twitter sensation after he was called on to do live broadcasts outdoors in the wind and snow because sporting events were called off. By midday Friday, a compilation of his broadcasts had been viewed nearly 5 million times on Twitter.

“I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news,” he told an anchor. “The good news is that I can still feel my face right now. The bad news is, I kind of wish I couldn’t.”

___

Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press journalists Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit; Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon; Zeke Miller in Washington; and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

18 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

18 hours ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

Massive winter storm brings rolling blackouts, power outages