[chris]

Winter storm Elliott brought heavy snow, high winds and brutal cold to much of the U.S. in the days before Christmas, leaving hundreds of thousands without power on Christmas morning.

The worst impacts were around Buffalo, New York, where 43 inches of snow had fallen by Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Winds in Buffalo reached nearly 80 mph.

Roads became impassable, and power substations froze. Police officers and firefighters were out on Christmas Day trying to reach people who were still stranded. Buffalo put a travel ban in place as blizzard conditions moved in.

More than 3,000 flights into, out of or within the U.S. were canceled on Christmas Eve, and more than 2,000 were canceled on Christmas Day.

Nearly 4 feet of snow was measured at Buffalo airport by Sunday. White-out conditions lingered south of Buffalo into the afternoon as squalls continued dropping 2 to 3 inches of snow an hour.

More than 165,000 customers woke up without power on Christmas morning across Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Virginia and Florida.