At least 30 reportedly dead as much of US in grip of freezing conditions

A powerful winter storm that swept across much of the United States has reportedly left at least 30 people dead.

The Associated Press reported that two men died of hypothermia in Louisiana. It says a website tracking power outages showed that more than 560,000 customers had no electricity as of Monday.

AP said many hotels in Tennessee were fully booked by residents who had left their blacked-out homes and the University of Mississippi had canceled classes at one campus for the entire week.

It said over 6,000 domestic and international flights were canceled nationwide and more than 7,500 others delayed.

The National Weather Service says the mercury plunged to minus 31 degrees Celsius in the western state of Utah on Monday. Meteorologists say conditions will continue to clear but many states will still face dangerously cold temperatures.

nhk