70 Percent Of US Under Storm Warning As Deep Freeze Hits

A historic and brutal winter storm put some 240 million Americans under severe weather warnings Friday as the United States faced holiday travel chaos, with thousands of flights cancelled and major highways closed.

Heavy snow and howling winds upended holiday plans for millions at one of the busiest times of the year, just days before Christmas, as a huge cold front swept down from the Arctic and took freezing hold of much of the nation, including normally temperate southern states.

Temperatures plunged below -40 degrees  Celsius in some locations, with a staggering 240 million people -- some 72 percent of the US population -- under winter weather warnings or advisories, according to the National Weather Service.