Winter storm, tornadoes batter US, thousands without electricity

A powerful winter storm spawned several tornadoes, leaving a trail of destruction in at least six states in the southern side of the US and causing a widespread power outage.

According to local reports, at least three people have been killed in Louisiana and a dozen injured.

The weather agency has predicted that several east coast states would be hit by snow and freezing rain late on Thursday and into Friday.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

While the Midwest is reeling brought blizzard-like conditions due to the storm system.

Louisiana was reported to be hit hardest by the storm. There were reports of downed power lines and collapsed buildings. A suburb of New Orleans reported that homes and businesses in the area had "suffered catastrophic damage".

As of Thursday evening, more than 10,000 people are without power in various parts of Louisiana, according to the website poweroutage.us.

Apart from Louisiana, power outages were also reported in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. In Wisconsin, 60,000 people were without power on Thursday afternoon.

A tornado alert has been issued in Florida and Georgia, with authorities warning residents of "damaging to destructive winds".

Up in the north, weather agencies have forecast snow and freezing rain to continue through at least Friday afternoon across a large swathe of the country from the east coast to the Midwest.

"This system is notable for the fact that it's going to impact areas all the way from California to eventually the Northeast," National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira told CBS.

Moreover in Minnesota, the Star Tribune newspaper reported blizzard-like conditions until Thursday, with as much as 2.5 feet (0.75 metres) of snow likely by the weekend.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: