US snow storm claims more lives
Fifteen people are reported killed by a severe snow storm now moving into north-eastern US states after disrupting Christmas in the Midwest.7 December 2012 Last updated at 19:42 GMT
Winter snow storm hits New England as '15 die' in US
The BBC's Ben Wright: "At airports the boards told a story of journeys ruined"
Fifteen
people have been reported killed by a severe snow storm moving into
north-eastern US states after disrupting Christmas in the Midwest.
States in New England are due to see heavy snowfall, with up
to 18 inches of snow expected in parts of Maine, the National Weather
Service said.Flights were grounded and road collisions reported as the storm moved across the middle of the US.
As many as 34 tornadoes were reported across the South on Christmas Day.
The storm moved across the Upper Ohio Valley and into the US north-east on Wednesday night. Heavy snow was also reported in eastern parts of Canada.
Hundreds of thousands of people are reported to have lost power as a result of the storm, the Associated Press (AP) said.
Winter storm warnings issued by the National Weather Service on Thursday said temperatures could dip to nearly 20F (-6C) and warned of dangerous travel conditions with near-zero visibility on roads.
Storm-related deaths were reported in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia, AP said.
'Sleet and freezing rain'
US storm update
Meanwhile, southern parts of the Canadian province of Quebec could receive up to 17in of snow, according to Environment Canada.
In Concord, New Hampshire, resident Dale Lamprey said he had been on the streets before 05:00 EST (10:00 GMT) on Thursday morning, trying to clear the snow.
"It's been windy, it's been snowing and I think it changed over to sleet and freezing rain at one point. It's pretty bad," he told AP.
Inbound flights were delayed in Philadelphia and at New York's LaGuardia airport, as thousands of travellers were trying to return home after Christmas.
Flights were also cancelled in Canada, with Toronto and Montreal affected, reports said.
Earlier in the week Little Rock, Arkansas, saw its first snow on Christmas Day in 83 years, while in neighbouring Oklahoma seven inches of snow were blamed for a 21-vehicle pile-up on an interstate highway outside Oklahoma City.
Thirty-four tornadoes were reported in the southern states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Tuesday. A large section of a church roof in Mobile, Alabama, was ripped off by a twister.
Falling trees claimed the lives of two people in Texas and Louisiana. Deaths were also reported on the roads in Oklahoma and Arkansas.
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