US gripped by severe winter storm with snow, ice and plunging temperatures – as it happened

Many alerts remain in place with power outages in some regions

• US winter storm: at least 15 people dead and 800,000 without power

• Tell us: have you been affected by the US storm?

Here are some photos that show just how severe the snow storm has been in New York:

Freezing rain that coated roads and brought trees and branches down on power lines was the main peril in the South over the weekend. In Corinth, Mississippi, heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar told employees at its site to stay home today and tomorrow.

It already was Mississippi’s worst ice storm since 1994 with its biggest-ever deployment of ice-melting chemicals — 200,000 gallons (750,000 liters) — plus salt and sand to treat icy roads, Governor Tate Reeves said at a press conference on Sunday.