For many Americans, the question is whether they will be able to reach their Christmas destination in time. On Friday, more than 5,200 flights across the country were canceled due to a historic winter storm. Dozens of trains also did not leave on Friday, Amtrak reports.

The U.S. is experiencing a "historic winter storm," according to the National Weather Service. More than two-thirds of the population are warned about extreme weather. The temperature has dropped tens of degrees below freezing in many places and it may become even colder in the coming days. The extreme weather is accompanied by a lot of snow. It was coldest on Friday, according to the weather service, in the city of Havre in the north of the state of Montana, where a temperature of -39 degrees Celsius
was measured.

Across the country, 1.5 million households and businesses were without power on Friday. In the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Iowa, visibility on the roads was virtually zero and authorities urged people to stay at home. Multiple states reported road fatalities due to the harsh conditions, a total number of casualties has not yet been determined.

In Canada, too, more than a million homes and businesses were without power, schools closed and hundreds of flights were cancelled. The winter storm hits the two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec. More than sixty percent of Canadians live in these provinces.

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* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)