A storm has swept over southern parts of the US, blowing roofs off homes and causing widespread power outages, while Midwestern states have been hit with heavy snow.
More than 300,000 people had no power on Tuesday morning, with the hardest hit states being Georgia, Florida and Alabama, according to data from PowerOutage.us.
Multiple tornado warnings have been issued for the southeast as authorities have urged people to remain indoors and only travel “unless absolutely necessary” as high winds have knocked down power lines, trees and tore apart buildings.
The storm has destroyed hundreds of mobile homes, as a video from weather forecaster AccuWeather also showed a wide scale debris trail in Marianna, Florida, with overturned vehicles, mangled pylons and trees blocking the roads.
Strong gale force winds have been recorded in the south, with one gust recorded at 106 mph (171 kph) Tuesday morning near the coast in Walton County, Florida.
Schools were shut in several states and parts of two interstate motorways were closed as more than a foot of snow landed on a huge area from southeastern Colorado to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
A number of states are under a winter storm warning including central Wisconsin, where as much as 23 cm of snow and 40mph (64kph) winds are expected, and Illinois, with forecasts of up to 30cm of snow by early Wednesday.
