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Live updates: Deadly winter storm to bring blizzards and dangerous wind chills to much of the U.S.
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Live updates: Deadly winter storm to bring blizzards and dangerous wind chills to much of the U.S.

Dangerously cold wind chills will freeze much of the eastern two-thirds of the country as a monstrous winter storm continues to wreak havoc through the holiday

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Dangerously cold wind chills will freeze much of the eastern two-thirds of the country as a monstrous winter storm continues to wreak havoc through the holiday weekend, forecasters have warned.

Blizzards and an Arctic blast will impact the Midwest to the Northeast, the National Weather Service said in a bulletin Saturday, adding that travel will be “extremely dangerous” and “at times impossible” where whiteout conditions occur.

The storm has already claimed the lives of multiple people and hundreds of thousands have been left without power. Holiday travelers have also encountered delays and cancellations.

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Widespread power outages across several states means that more than 800,000 customers will wake up without power on Christmas Eve morning, according to poweroutage.us.

The northeast is the worst affected part of the country, with 247,000 without power in Maine, 78,300 in New Hampshire and 74,300 in New York.

Elsewhere, 12,650 were also without power in Texas and 11,670 in Washington.

Emergency service workers in Erie County, NY are experiencing surging call numbers and operating under "near impossible conditions," Erie County Executive Mark Polocarz tweeted early Saturday.

"Transport to warming centers is nearly impossible in the hardest hit communities right now so even without power and heat sheltering in place may be your best option," he said.

Authorities have reported four additional weather-related deaths, bringing the number of people who have died in the winter storm to 17.

The four deaths occurred in Kansas and Nebraska, and were all auto-related, officials have said.

Nebraska State Patrol confirmed one weather-related death. Additional details have not been released. A spokesperson for the agency said it has responded to over 600 weather-related incidents.

Kansas Highway Patrol said Friday that three fatal crashes occurred Wednesday and were all thought to be weather-related.

In Republic County, a man died after his car was struck by another vehicle that lost control and jackknifed. His car was pushed off the road and into a tree. He was identified as 60-year-old Fred Mikesell of Scandia, Kansas, officials said.

The driver of the other vehicle was uninjured, according to Highway Patrol.

Zachary Bealer, 33, of Kansas City, Missouri, died after he lost control of his truck and spun across the median of Interstate 70 in Geary County. His truck was then hit by two other vehicles and came to rest 80 feet down an embankment, Highway Patrol said.

No injuries were reported among the people in the two other vehicles.

Grant Lysell-Alkire, 21, of Lindsborg, Kansas, died after the SUV he was a passenger in went into a ditch on Interstate 135 in Saline County and overturned. The 16-year-old driver had a minor injury, according to Highway Patrol.

Deaths have also been reported in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Ohio.