At least 17 killed; US winter storm brings power outages and flight cancellations

BBC update

A MAJOR storm is hitting parts of the US, leaving at least 17 dead and hundreds of thousands without power.

Deaths have been reported in New York, Tennessee, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Texas, where a 16-year-old girl was killed in a sledging accident.

More than 10,000 flights have been cancelled and schools and roads across the country have been closed.

Snow will continue to ease during Monday, but the central and eastern parts of the US will be bitterly cold, writes our lead weather presenter.

Warnings from the National Weather Service (NWS) stretch from Texas in the south to New England in the northeast.

Even for Canada, this storm has been a shock to the system, writes our reporter in Toronto, as the city's Pearson Airport saw record-breaking snowfall on Sunday.