Millions of Americans were sheltered on Monday after a major winter storm with its share of snow and ice broke out in the eastern United States, causing power outages as well as disrupting road and air transport .

“A major winter storm will hit the eastern United States between Sunday and Monday,” the National Weather Service (NWS) warned, indicating that up to 30 centimeters of snow could cover an area extending from Tennessee and Georgia. , in the Southeast, in Vermont and in New York State, in the Northeast, with strong winds and freezing rain. The NWS warned that winds could reach hurricane force on the Atlantic Coast.

Several states reported traffic disruptions in the evening.

Thousands of flights have been canceled in North Carolina and part of Interstate I95 has been closed.

Motorists have been warned of “dangerous road conditions” and of heavy traffic from Arkansas (South) to Maine (Northeast).

According to the NWS, “Arctic wind that is already present over the central and eastern United States will combine with this dynamic system to create a thick layer of ice more than 30 cm”, with the Appalachian mountain range forecasting 2.5 cm of snowfall. Hours on Monday and cold conditions on Tuesday.

According to the Weather Channel, Florida (southeast), also more accustomed to good weather at this time of year, was indirectly affected when this winter storm caused several tornadoes accompanied by snow, causing property damage. And on Sunday there was coastal flooding.

From North and South Carolina to the Appalachians, snow and high winds complicate the situation.

According to US media, winter weather warnings affect more than 80 million people. According to the FlightAware website, around 3,000 domestic or international flights were canceled and about 4,200 delayed as of mid-afternoon on Sunday.

– Emergency stiuation –

According to the PowerOutage.us website, 235,000 people were affected in the Southeast, including more than 150,000 in the Carolinas, but power appeared to be restored in many areas in the evening, reducing the number of people without power to a minimum. 145,000.

In Georgia, one of the worst-affected states, Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency on Friday, and snowflakes were working before noon to clear roads. It has snowed lightly in Atlanta.

Virginia and North Carolina have also declared states of emergency. According to the weather channel, the latter state received more than 30 cm of snow.

Virginia police announced on Twitter a number of minor traffic accidents and a traffic stop on a major highway in the south of the state.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper confirmed on Twitter that up to 30 cm of snow had fallen in some areas by noon and that “heavy icing was causing problems in the center of the ‘state’, while the population was forced to stay sheltered and avoid travel.” Invoking possible.

In the same state, students experienced a great deal of fear when the roof of a university residence collapsed, according to local channel ABC, an incident in which no injuries were reported. “It was so scary,” Brevard College student Melody Ferguson told Chanel, “I’m still shivering.”

The northeastern United States had already received snow in early January, covered with a 30 cm thick white coat. Hundreds of drivers were stranded for nearly 20 hours on a major axis connecting the capital Washington.

The NWS forecast that the storm is expected to reach eastern Canada on Tuesday.