Many people have died due to extreme cold weather prevailing in America. The weather also means many Americans won’t be able to celebrate Christmas with relatives elsewhere in the country. Thousands of flights have been cancelled.

A cold Christmas is expected across the country. In Minnesota it can reach -33 degrees and the wind chill is often very low. A strong, cold wind can make it feel like -47 degrees.

Passengers are stranded at airports across the country.

US media reported different death tolls. CBS News It speaks of at least nineteen deaths as a result of snow and strong cold winds. CNN Nine lays dead. In many cases it is a traffic accident.

In the northeastern state of Ohio, there was a large pile-up involving about fifty cars. Four people lost their lives.

Some houses do not even have electricity. In the northeastern state of Maine, the situation is even worse. According to the site power cut. us 264,000 homes and businesses are without power.

In total, more than 1.7 million households and businesses face power problems. A major grid operator is calling on residents in more than a dozen US states to turn down the thermostat and not use ovens and dishwashers to prevent power outages. Industry has also been asked to use less electricity.

According to grid operator BJM Interconnection, there is high demand for electricity and the cold makes it difficult to generate electricity. This warning applies to Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington DC.

It is also cold in the southern part of the country. In Florida, the weather is usually mild, and it can be freezing now. It will be the coldest Christmas in thirty years.

Winter weather also affects the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. A total of one million homes and businesses were without power there. Hundreds of flights have also been canceled there and public transport has been disrupted in many places.

In Ontario, similar to Ohio in the US, there was a huge pile-up involving dozens of vehicles. No casualties occurred.