A severe winter storm brought danger and suffering to millions of Americans on Christmas Day, as thick snow and subzero temperatures seized the eastern United States, resulting in at least 31 weather-related fatalities.

A crisis was unfolding in Buffalo, New York, in western New York, where a blizzard had isolated the city and prevented emergency services from reaching high-impact areas.

"It's like entering a war zone, and the automobiles on the sides of the roadways are shocking," said New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a native of Buffalo, where eight-foot snow drifts and power outages have created life-threatening conditions.

Hochul told reporters on Sunday evening that inhabitants remained in a "severe life-threatening scenario" and urged everyone in the area to remain indoors.

More than 200,000 people in various eastern states awoke on Christmas morning without electricity, and many more had their holiday travel plans disrupted by the five-day storm that brought blizzard conditions and fierce winds.

The harsh weather drove wind chill temperatures below freezing in all 48 contiguous US states over the weekend, stranding holiday travelers with thousands of canceled flights and trapping homeowners in ice- and snow-covered houses.

In nine states, thirty-one weather-related deaths have been recorded, including four in Colorado who presumably perished from exposure and at least 12 in New York, where officials have warned that the number will undoubtedly grow.

Officials recounted harsh conditions in the snow-prone Buffalo region, including whiteouts lasting for hours and discovering deaths in vehicles and beneath snow banks as rescuers tried to locate those in need.

The city's international airport is closed until Tuesday, while a driving ban remains in effect for the whole lakeside metropolis's Erie County.

"The blizzard of '22 will be remembered not just today but for centuries to come," Hochul said, adding that the storm's "intensity, duration, and fury of the winds" eclipsed the region's previous landmark snowstorm of 1977.

According to a senior county official, some people were not expected to restore power until Tuesday due to frozen electric substations, with one substation buried under 18 feet of snow.

"Conditions are just so bad"

In western New York's Great Lakes region, the National Weather Service warned that lake-effect snow-caused blizzard conditions continued on Sunday, with "further snow accumulations of 2 to 3 feet through tonight."

One Buffalo couple across the border from Canada told AFP on Saturday that they would not be making the 10-minute drive to visit family for Christmas because the roads were entirely impassable.

Rebecca Bortolin, age 40, stated, "It's difficult since the conditions are so poor; many fire departments aren't even sending out trucks for calls."

For millions, a more extensive travel nightmare was in full swing.

The storm, one of the worst in decades, resulted in the cancellation of more than 2,400 US flights on Sunday, in addition to more than 3,500 flights canceled Saturday and over 6,000 flights canceled Friday, according to Flightaware.com.

On Christmas Day, travelers remained trapped or delayed at airports, including those in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, and New York.

Additionally, road ice and whiteout conditions led to the temporary shutdown of several of the nation's most significant transportation corridors, including Interstate 70.

Even though the nation had reached its typically busiest travel season, drivers were cautioned not to travel.

To prevent rolling blackouts in places like North Carolina and Tennessee, various power suppliers have urged millions of consumers to cut their electricity consumption in response to the inclement weather.

According to poweroutage.us, at one time on Saturday, approximately 1.7 million consumers were without power in the bitter weather.

Despite a significant decrease by Sunday evening, more than 70,000 consumers in eastern states remained without electricity.

Saturday's bus crash in British Columbia, Canada, thought to have been caused by ice roads, resulted in four fatalities and 53 hospitalizations, including two individuals in serious condition as of early Sunday morning.

In the meantime, hundreds of thousands were left without electricity in Ontario and Quebec, numerous flights were canceled in significant cities, and passenger rail service between Toronto and Ottawa was discontinued.