US bracing for 2nd major winter storm after East Coast slammed

WASHINGTON

The Central US is bracing for a major winter storm on Monday as the parts of the East Coast dig out from historic snowfall amid below freezing temperatures.

Coastal areas along the Northeast saw between 1 and over 2 feet (30-61 cm) of snow over the weekend with cold weather continuing to grip an area from the mid-Atlantic to Maine.

Boston, Massachusetts tied on Saturday its record for single-day snowfall with some 23.6 inches (60 cm), according to the National Weather Service (NWS), which noted an additional 0.2 inches (half a centimeter) fell on Friday evening for a total snowfall of 23.8 inches.

In New York, some reports suggest at least four people died as a result of the extreme weather. All of the deaths were recorded in Long Island where some 24.7 inches of snow fell in Islip, according to NBC News.

The NWS is warning a "significant" winter storm is forming in the midwest with effects expected to begin on Tuesday, including "major winter weather impacts" from the Central Plains through the Northeast as the storm slowly marches eastward. Affected regions can expect heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain, according to the service.

The weekend's storm led to thousands of flight cancellations across the eastern seaboard, including 1,548 flights within, into, or out of the US that were called off on Sunday, according to the FlightAware tracking website.

Power outages were also reported in the region, particularly in Massachusetts where over 96,000 customers lost power, according to the PowerOutage.US website.