The winter storm that has been traveling through much of the United States so far has resulted in at least six deaths, and has caused the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights, authorities announced yesterday.

The first death occurred on Tuesday in Houston, when strong winds blew over a tree that fell on a man, and the other five fatalities occurred in road accidents in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana due to the bad weather.

The storm, which on Tuesday came down hard on many of the southern states, has been moving now towards New England.

On Wednesday morning, ice and snow covered highways in southern Illinois and southern Indiana, and also the nation's capital woke up to a light snowfall.

The biggest accumulations of snow will occur in Indiana and Ohio, where there is already more than thirty centimeters (12 inches) on the ground, and it has also started to snow in Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as in western New York State.

According to the National Weather Service, tornados were reported in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Christmas Day, and strong winds also left about 71,000 customers without electricity on the evening of Christmas Day.

Data collected by Flightaware.com, reports that about 1,500 flights have been canceled because of the snow in the northeastern U.S. airports, and tomorrow about 170 national and international connections are expected to not be in operation.

Editorial@sandiegored.com