Parts of US to see up to 4ft of snow as winter storm prompts tornado warnings

A storm has swept over southern parts of the US, blowing roofs off homes and causing widespread power outages, while Midwestern states have been hit with heavy snow.

More than 300,000 people had no power on Tuesday morning, with the hardest hit states being Georgia, Florida and Alabama, according to data from PowerOutage.us.

Multiple tornado warnings have been issued for the southeast as authorities have urged people to remain indoors and only travel “unless absolutely necessary” as high winds have knocked down power lines, trees and tore apart buildings.

The storm has destroyed hundreds of mobile homes, as a video from weather forecaster AccuWeather also showed a wide scale debris trail in Marianna, Florida, with overturned vehicles, mangled pylons and trees blocking the roads.

Strong gale force winds have been recorded in the south, with one gust recorded at 106mph (171kph) Tuesday morning near the coast in Walton County, Florida.

Schools were shut in several states and parts of two interstate motorways were closed as more than a foot of snow landed on a huge area from southeastern Colorado to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

A number of states are under a winter storm warning including central Wisconsin, where as much as 23cm of snow and 40mph (64kph) winds are expected, and Illinois, with forecasts of up to 30cm of snow by early Wednesday.

The Chicago area, as well as Gary, Indiana, were under winter storm advisories, with forecasts predicting 15cm of snow.

And in Seattle, a rare blizzard warning is in force until Wednesday evening – the first for the region since 2012 – as up to four feet of snow is possible, along with gusts as high as 60mph (96kph).

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The state’s transport department ordered all cars to have chains on their tyres on deteriorating mountain roads, adding that “there’s no shame in asking yourself if you and/or your vehicle are prepared for blizzard conditions on a mountain pass”.

Former president Donald Trump’s campaign team were forced to cancel travelling to Iowa due to snow grounding several flights.

Hundreds of flights have already been cancelled and the number of delays within, into or out of the US today totalled more than 2,700, according to flight tracking company FlightAware.

The weather warnings even stretched to Hawaii, where a flood warning is in place for the island of Maui after heavy thunderstorms. Snow is also expected on the Big Island volcano peaks of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.