Severe storms ripped through central Mississippi, bringing further misery to an area already decimated by a line of tornadoes that killed 12 people in April. Tornado watches were posted across southern Louisiana, much of Mississippi and Alabama and into Tennessee as the storms moved east Tuesday.

Authorities in Mississippi reported 15 people hurt and homes and businesses badly damaged, but no deaths. On Battle Street in Yazoo City, a twister late Monday ripped the tarp off 63-year-old Clarence Taylor's roof, which had been damaged by the April tornado.

"It looks like a war zone now," he said Tuesday morning, pulling a slow drag off a cigarette, then looking around at the power lines dangling from broken poles and pieces of tin scattered about from nearby buildings.

Temperatures plummeted to the coldest on record for November in parts of the UK overnight.

Northern Ireland reached a new low of -8.6C (17F) at Aldergrove, in Belfast, and in Wales, a record minimum of -18C was recorded at Llysdinam.

Heavy snow is still falling in much of Scotland and north-east England, bringing travel disruption, and is set to last until Tuesday.

Forecasters says Siberian winds from Monday will make it feel even colder.

Met Office severe weather warnings for heavy snow and widespread ice remain in place for eastern Scotland, and north east England, down to Yorkshire and Humber.

Although there will be some sunshine in many parts of the UK, including East Anglia and North Wales later on Sunday, Northumberland, Durham, Nottingham and the Chilterns are set to get further snow showers.

The KwaZulu-Natal disaster management unit was on Saturday providing support to the families of seven people who died -- including a two-year-old girl -- when a marquee was struck by lightning.

"We are visiting the seven families and offering them support. Tomorrow [Sunday] we will go visit the hospitals," said Mthokozisi Duza, the head of the province's disaster management unit.

Sixty-seven people were also injured. Fourteen of were receiving treatment in local hospitals.

He said details about the incident were sketchy and an inquest docket had been opened.

Parents and children had gathered for a Christmas party on Friday afternoon at the Inkosiyethu crèche when the lightning struck.

Caracas - The ceaseless rains that have fallen for several weeks in Venezuela caused three deaths in Caracas on Friday and two earlier in Miranda state, while authorities in the northwestern state of Falcon were forced to declare a state of emergency.

Before dawn Friday a mudslide in a poor neighborhood near the capital's downtown area buried three children ages 11, 8 and 2, while leaving four people injured.

The bodies of the three young victims were recovered by firefighters, while the injured - two adults and two minors - were hospitalized.

On Thursday the downpours in Miranda state in the northern part of the country left two people dead and more than 1,000 families affected, the regional director of Civil Protection, Victor Lira, said.

The official said that the swollen Cupira River in the eastern part of the state swept away and drowned one person, while another was buried in a mudslide.

Streets were flooded in the Barlovento region of Miranda state, where "631 homes are flooded more than a meter (3 feet) deep in water," Lira said.

One of the heaviest snowstorms in 30 years has led to at least 1,000 herdsmen being trapped in the interior of China's Inner Mongolia region, a media report said Saturday.

The snowstorm hit Xing'an prefecture, 1,500 km northeast of Inner Mongolia capital Hohhot, last week. Snow piled up to 30 cm in most parts of the region and a metre in some areas, the China Daily reported.

The snow was 40 days earlier than its usual arrival time and was the heaviest in 30 years, officials said. At least 700 livestock are believed to have perished in the storm.

The winds have so far hampered efforts to start a rescue operation in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which has been cut off since a major snowstorm a week ago.

The lives of the herdsmen were not threatened as they have enough stocks of food and no casualties have been reported, said Qiu Feng, a government official.

France has been hit by unusually early snow with the first snowfall of the winter hitting the east of the country on Thursday and Paris Friday afternoon. The cold snap will see temperatures plummet and is likely to last at least a week, according to Michel Daloz of Météo France.

As in much of the rest of Europe, relatively heavy snow has hit lowlying areas three weeks earlier than usual. The cold is likely to move south at the weekend.

Temperatures will drop below zero overnight in some areas, with 0°C to 5°C during the day.

Although 2009's winter saw the heaviest snowfall for 30 years, it did not start in low-lying areas until December.

Snow has not arrived this early since 2005, when winter was also colder than last year. Any part of the country could be disrupted by the harsh weather this year, meteorologists warn.

Paris on Monday announced its plan to tackle the effects of cold this winter.

Severe weather warnings for almost all of the UK are in place, with heavy snow, widespread icy roads and bitter temperatures forecast.

Some 10ins (25cm) of snow is expected to fall over higher ground, while parts of the Midlands and London will not escape a dusting. Overnight temperatures across the UK plunged well below zero again, after a day when much of the country was badly disrupted by the earliest widespread snow for 17 years.

The Met Office said London and the South East, the South West, East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber and the north east of England face widespread icy roads. The North East, Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands and the South West were also braced for heavy snow and Wales and Northern Ireland can expect icy roads while Scotland is in line for more heavy snow and drifts thanks to a biting wind.

Forecasters said the cold snap is set to tighten its grip, blanketing swathes of the country in white by the middle of next week.

Aisling Creevey, of MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "It's definitely staying cold and going into next week, we could see a lot more snow. There is a low pressure system across the country and if it moves the way it is looking to at the moment, it's going to be very windy, very snowy and really bitter."

Temperatures will barely rise above freezing on Saturday, with the South West set to be the warmest at around 3C.

Motorists battled with hazardous conditions on the roads today as the widest-spread November snowfall for 17 years gripped the country. Parts of the UK were blanketed in white as many woke to wintry scenes and freezing temperatures following a bitterly cold night.

The Met Office issued severe weather warnings, flagging up drifting snow for the eastern side of the country as well as parts of Wales and Northern Ireland, while North Yorkshire County Council said six village primary schools were forced to close. Worst-hit were the Scottish Highlands, with up to 8ins (20cm) of snow forecast to settle in Grampian - along with Yorkshire, north east England and East Anglia.

But the rest of Britain did not escape unscathed and snow ploughs and gritters were out in force. A heavy dump of snow caused havoc for commuters in north east Scotland and northern England where up to to 4ins (10cm) had settled today. Drivers also struggled on the North York Moors, which have been hit by bad weather and sub-zero temperatures.

The A170 at Sutton Bank was particularly affected, as was the B1249 at Staxton Bank near Scarborough. The A165 Reighton bypass was partially blocked this morning, with slow traffic around the Sands Road junction.

The Upper Midwest will become one of the nation's worst regions for Thanksgiving travelers to pass through today due to an invasion of snow and ice. The snow will continue to create slick roadways from far eastern Montana to the western shores of Lake Superior today. The snow will fall intermittently throughout the day over North Dakota, eastern South Dakota and neighboring parts of Canada.

This afternoon and evening is when the snow will create the most adverse conditions for motorists in Minneapolis and Duluth. airline passengers should prepare for substantial delays. As the snow continues into tonight, as much as 6 inches will accumulate from northern North Dakota to places in the vicinity of western Lake Superior. International Falls, Minnesota, lies within this zone.

Gusty winds will worsen the situation for travelers today by whipping the snow around, leading to reduced visibility. The strongest winds will blast the northern High Plains, where high temperatures will be held to the teens and single digits. These winds will create dangerous blizzard conditions at times. While a substantial amount of new snow will not fall today, the winds will have no trouble blowing and drifting the snow left by recent storm systems.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 5 inches of snow remained on the ground in Rapid City, South Dakota

Weather system brings snow, power outages and unseasonably chilly temperatures

A blast of Arctic air is barrelling down on the West Coast of B.C., threatening to break low temperature records that have stood for 25 years. The low is expected to dip to -10 C in the Vancouver area and -4 C in Victoria - the "warm" spot for the province. The overnight low in the far northeast at Fort St. John is forecast at -30 C and in Prince George, in the central Interior, -26 C.

The lowest recorded temperature in Vancouver for this date is -12.9 C, set in 1985. Tuesday's forecast high of -6 C should smash the record for the coldest daytime high for Nov. 23 of -1 C, also set in 1985. The weather system brought more strong winds Monday night, knocking out power to more than 20,000 homes in the Fraser Valley. The outages were located mostly in Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Langley. Hydro crews were expected to have the power back on sometime overnight.

The freezing weather system also dumped snow on the streets of Victoria and shut down some ferry routes between the islands. Police in Victoria asked people to keep their vehicles off the street after a dump of snow made some routes impassable and led to a rash of traffic accidents. Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for southern Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Sunshine Coast as road conditions are expected to worsen. That prompted many businesses like Gateway Property Management to close for the day so their staff could avoid the afternoon rush hour, according to manager Nathan Enns.

"If the snow stops in the next hour then ... it's sort of a non-issue. But if it keeps going, it's going to be a messy, convoluted rush hour going home this afternoon," said Enns. In Victoria, the city urged drivers to stay out of their vehicles in order to give public works crews time to clear major arteries. A dozen smaller streets in the city are closed, in order to clear motor vehicle accidents, police said.