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© AFPDrivers try to navigate through heavy snow in Alexandria, Virginia.
Dozens of Americans have lost their lives because of a massive winter storm just before the Christmas holidays, according to emergency services.

The fatalities attributed to the storm began Wednesday, with hundreds of Thursday flights cancelled at airports from Minneapolis to Dallas. The weather is not expected to clear before Saturday.

Five people died on Kansas's icy roads, the state highway patrol reported, and six people have died on Nebraskan roads.

Three people were killed after a dust storm near Phoenix caused a 22-vehicle pileup, the Arizona Republic reported.

Three were killed on the slippery roads in New Mexico and one other person died in a Minnesota crash, local media reported.

Along the US Gulf Coast, a powerful thunderstorm left one Louisiana man dead after a tree fell on his house, AFP reported.

South Dakota, Texas and Oklahoma have declared states of emergency and called on National Guard troops to help dig out stranded travelers.

This is the second major weather system to sweep the US, after a record-breaking snowstorm slammed the eastern seaboard less than a week ago.