Rows of headstones, with Christmas wreaths, barely poke out of shrouds of snow, with a U.S. flag and two others flying in the far distance.
Rows of headstones are blanketed by drifting snow at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Mandan, N.D., on Thursday. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP)

More than 1 million people were without power in the United States and thousands of flights were canceled because of a huge winter storm.

There were more than 11,000 flights that were delayed or canceled in the US on Friday.

More than one million homes and businesses in the United States were without power on Friday, according to Power Outage.us. More than 350,000 people were without power.

Through snow-laden branches, someone in a hooded jacket tries to clear a path in front of a house with a red plastic shovel.
Someone shovels snow off the end of a driveway in Urbandale, Iowa, on Thursday.

Train service was delayed or canceled in the tristate area due to flooding and downed trees.

FedEx warned that holiday packages may be late because of weather delays.

More than 200 million Americans were under a winter weather advisory or warning on Friday, making it the most ever.

A map showing areas under winter weather advisories. (National Weather Service)
A map showing areas under winter weather advisories. (National Weather Service)

The cold air behind the storm system will cause temperatures to plummet quickly. The temperature in Denver was minus 24 degrees.

When atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm, there is a chance of a bomb cyclone.

Heavy lake-effect snow, high wind gusts and the potential for extensive power outages were what officials were bracing for in Buffalo.

President Biden warned that this is not like a snow day when he was a child. This is not trivial.

In a residential area covered with a few inches of snow, a woman walks four dogs, one in a bright red Santa coat, and one with its paws covered in black slippers with red socks..
A dog walker walks with her dogs near Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis on Thursday. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)