Winter storm leaves at least four dead, millions on alert

At least four people have died due to the effects of the winter storm that is sweeping across much of the nation. Two persons died in Alabama, one in Georgia and one in North Carolina.

More than 196 million people were under advisories and warnings this weekend for wind, snow, tornadoes, heavy rain and flooding. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued warnings for extreme weather and hazardous travel conditions for the Carolinas, New York, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Virginia,Missississippi, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, California, Texas and Oklahoma.

In addition, the storm has caused widespread power outages. The PowerOutage.us platform revealed that more than 600,000 citizens were without power this January 9 (more than 300,000 in New York, Louisiana, Florida and Georgia). Travel has also been affected. FlightAware reported that about 4,000 flights were delayed and more than 1,000 were canceled early Wednesday due to delays and cancellations.

Storms will continue to move

The storms will continue to move eastward across the country, NWS reported. "The ongoing winter storm that is producing a multitude of significant impacts from the Midwest to the East Coast will linger into tonight and Wednesday."

New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Charlotte and Chicago are among the cities most affected by the storm (with high risk of heavy snowfall and flooding). In Florida, tornado warnings remain active Wednesday across most of the state (at least 15 tornadoes left significant damage).