Tonight, more than two hundred million Americans are under some form of winter storm advisory ahead into Christmas weekend. National Weather Service alerts range from Washington state to Maine, and the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida is under a hard freeze warning. The Midwest has and is suffering the most with nearly white out conditions reported in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. In the East, flash flooding is inundated communities across several states including Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts while power has been knocked out to nearly 1.5 million homes and businesses. All this, of course, has been a nightmare for holiday travelers on the road and in the air.

The bomb cyclone storm forecasters predicted definitely delivered. Now, Chicago like many places across the country is dealing with binding wind chills so cold, people are being told to stay indoors. Tonight, a blast of cold air has pushed temperatures to dangerous lows. In Chicago, fifty mile per hour winds at a wind chill of minus forty is even making the usual road clearing measures useless. The storm has been deadly. At least twelve people have been killed. One driver in Missouri slid off the road into a lake. Temperatures in at least fifteen states are negative territory. Denver experienced its second coldest day on record. Today was the east coast turn to take the punch. A driving ban in Buffalo and coastal flooding from Massachusetts to New York City have residents waiting in deep water. Even Florida, Georgia and Texas are expected overnight temperatures near zero. In Tennessee, many areas are experiencing rolling backouts. Renewing Texas fears of a repeat of a massive power grid failure less than two years ago. Now here in Chicago, we are starting to see more people on the roads, but officials warn this cold is no joke. Frostbtie can set in in just minutes.