Heavy snow blankets the US southwest

A major winter storm has dumped freezing rain and heavy snow across parts of the southwestern USA. The severe weather has killed least 13 people in five states.

Bitterly cold Arctic winds brought blizzards into New Mexico on Sunday blanketing much of the state. Snow levels in northern and western parts were high enough to enforce road closures across the entire area.

Elsewhere, icy roads and flooding have created hazardous conditions in Oklahoma, Texas, California and Arizona.

The storm is expected to continue moving east over the next few days and is likely to disrupt road and rail travel across the very busy holiday weekend.

The storm is forecast to bring heavy snow to the Appalachian Mountains and New England, in the northeast, by Wednesday, which is one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Around 40 million people are expected to travel during the holiday long weekend. Widespread disruption due to the severe winter weather does seem to be inevitable.