An “extreme” blizzard has caused widespread disruption in the western US – with more than 10ft of snow piling up in places.
Thousands of properties were left without power in California and Nevada over the weekend, while the state of Utah was also hit.
The states have also been affected by heavy rain and wind speeds of more than 100mph – including a tornado that rained debris down on an elementary school in Madera County, California.
Hundreds of motorists were left stranded on the Interstate 80 highway between Reno and Sacramento due to the conditions, forcing authorities to shut down 100 miles (160km) of the busy road.
Officials said there had been “multiple” reports of crashes and drivers losing control.
A Major League Soccer game in Salt Lake City, Utah, was among the sporting fixtures disrupted – although officials controversially decided to allow play to continue despite heavy snow, a two-hour delay to kick-off and a stoppage for lightning.
Los Angeles FC manager Steve Cherundolo, whose side lost 3-0 to hosts Real Salt Lake, branded Saturday’s match a “disgrace” and said it should have been called off.
Image: Los Angeles FC and Real Salt Lake footballers played on despite heavy snow. Pic: Rob Gray/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Several ski resorts in the affected states were also forced to close due to the amount of snowfall and poor visibility.
More than 7,000 homes in California were left without power, while power cuts in and around Las Vegas affected almost 29,000 properties on Saturday.
Image: A family struggle through the snow in Truckee, California. Pic: Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group via AP
The storm first began sweeping in on Thursday, with the freezing conditions, snow and storms expected to continue into Wednesday in some areas.
A blizzard warning covered a 300-mile stretch of the Sierra Nevada mountain region on Sunday, with forecasters warning more snow was likely.
One of the worst-affected areas was the town of Truckee near Lake Tahoe in California, where homes, businesses and vehicles were buried in more than 10ft of snow.
Resident Dubravka Tomasin described the blizzard as “pretty harrowing.”
Image: A house is buried in snow in the town of Truckee. Pic: Ashley Belline/via Reuters
National Weather Service meteorologist William Churchill said the conditions represented a “life-threatening concern” and said snow could pile up to more than 12ft deep by the end of Sunday in higher regions.
He described the storm as an “extreme blizzard,” adding: “It’s certainly just about as bad as it gets in terms of the snow totals and the winds. It doesn’t get much worse than that.”
Image: Crews try to repair damaged electricity cables in Truckee. Pic: AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier
Other attractions forced to close over the weekend included Yosemite National Park in California, while authorities also warned of an ongoing “high to extreme” danger of avalanches in mountain regions.
On Day 77, US correspondents Mark Stone and David Blevins answer your questions on everything from Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs and their impact on American consumers, to Trump’s relationship with Putin and if they have plans for the Arctic, and penguins.
If you’ve got a question you’d like Mark, Martha, and James to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.
Don’t forget, you can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.
Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Image: Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Image: Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Image: Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
Image: People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
Image: A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
Image: A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
Image: A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Image: Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Protesters refuse to take Donald Trump’s policies lying down
It was built to honour George Washington, a founding father of the United States.
And in the shadow of the 555ft Washington Monument, protestors were refusing to accept Donald Trump’s policies lying down.
“Stand tall,” they chanted, again and again.
“In every city, stand tall. In every state, stand tall. In truth, stand tall. In justice, stand tall.”
Those words, shouted by thousands on the city’s iconic mall, were reinforced by the words on their placards and t-shirts.
A minister, wearing a t-shirt with ‘Troublesome Priest’ printed on it, told me she found what was happening in the US government “appalling and immortal”.
One man said he had won the long-distance award, having travelled 2,750 miles from Hawaii for the protest.
“I finally reached a breaking point,” he added. “I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Another woman said: “We have to speak up, we have to act, we have to do something, because this is not America.”
I asked her what she would say to those who argue the people did speak when they elected Donald Trump as president.
She replied: “Some people have spoken and then some people have not and those of us that have not, we need to speak now.”
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Image: People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Image: Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.