A huge storm has been sweeping through the United States, bringing large amounts of snow, disrupting travel and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.

Over the weekend, the storm arced across America from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes.

Ten states, nearly all in the Midwest, have been badly affected.

In Arkansas 100,000 people were stranded without electricity when rain froze on the power-lines, causing them to collapse.

Chicago was buried under two feet of snow in 24 hours - the second-heaviest snowstorm in the city's history.

On top of that, there have been high winds and even tornados in some areas, bringing temperatures down to as low as minus -28C.

Travel chaos

There has been chaos at many airports and on the roads.

Nearly two million people are struggling to return home this weekend at the end of the holiday season. Many of them have been delayed; some have had to sleep at the airports.

The motorways have experienced numerous pile-ups, killing at least a dozen people.

In Pennsylvania, a handicapped man froze to death in his wheelchair while trying to get home from a New Year's Eve party. Across the Midwest people have been stocking up on supplies of food, fearing that more is to come.