Barrage of winter storms claim at least 33 lives as US plunges into deep freeze

An unrelenting series of winter storms and an outbreak of cold air have killed at least 33 people across nine US states since January 12, local media reported, putting most of the US in a deep freeze.

Many of the nearly three dozen deaths reported so far are because of weather-related circumstances such as car accidents due to icy roads and hypothermia caused by near sub-freezing temperatures, according to multiple media outlets.

Heavy snowfall and freezing rain have blanketed much of the Pacific Northwest, shutting down roads and causing power outages to nearly 100,000 residents, according to the website PowerOutage.us.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that in addition to the ice storms, there are more severe winter weather conditions on the way.

The winter storms have caused chaos on highways with overturned semi-trucks and traffic accidents due to heavy snowfall and icy road conditions. In addition, more than 10,000 flights have been delayed with nearly 3,000 cancellations so far, with more delays and cancellations expected as the storms continue to wreak havoc through the end of the week.