At least five people died as ice storms cut power in some parts of the United States, multiple-car wrecks were reported in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois and chilly temperatures and blustery winds forced residents to bundle up.

Drivers blinded by blizzard conditions created a 30-vehicle pile-up on Interstate 94 in western Michigan that killed a 31-year-old man, media reports said, while dozens of vehicles collided in a series of other wrecks and spinouts nearby.

The fierce weather, which coincided with the official arrival of winter on Sunday, was blamed for the death of two people in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate Highway 80 east of Des Moines, Iowa.

Another weather-related fatality was reported in northwest Iowa when a farm tractor being used for snow removal slipped off the driveway and overturned, killing the driver, the Des Moines Register newspaper reported.

Due to the danger, the nearby state of Minnesota temporarily banned the use of snow plows until the thick of the storm passed.

The ice made roads slick as far south as Texas, where a 44-year-old grandmother was killed in Dallas when her car slid off a road, local reports said.

The National Weather Service said Bismarck, North Dakota was on track to break a 1916 record for snowfall in December. The city has received 19 inches of snow so far in December and, with more snow on the way, could shatter the last record of 21.7 inches.

Canada may see its first countrywide white Christmas since 1971, meteorologists predicted. Environment Canada issued snow warnings across the country and winter storm watches in Northern Ontario.

About 89,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were without power in several parts of the northeastern province, CBC television reported. Several bridges, ferries and parts of the Trans-Canada Highway were closed to traffic while more than 300 flights were cancelled at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, the CBC said.

Temperatures plunged in Canada below freezing, with the central province of Saskatchewan reporting four below zero degrees Fahrenheit (negative 38 Celsius) Monday morning, and further east around 20 centimeters (eight inches) of snow covered Montreal.

Travel was treacherous in the US northwestern states of Oregon and Washington, with 30 to 61 centimeters (one to two feet) of snow expected from Wednesday to Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service said in its winter storm watch for the region.

"This is probably one of the worst storms since 1990," weather service meteorologist Dana Felton told AFP by phone from Seattle, adding that the last big storm on this scale was on Christmas day 1996.

"This is definitely a once-in-a-decade type of storm."

A winter storm warning remained in effect until 4:00 pm Tuesday (0000 GMT Wednesday), with up to 30 centimeters (a foot) of total snow accumulation expected.

Thousands of travelers were stranded by snow across the Pacific Northwest region, the Seattle-Post Intelligence reported. But the weather service downgraded or dropped most warnings in Washington state and some in Oregon.

Overnight snow, ice and freezing temperatures led to road closures and downed powerlines throughout the state, the Oregonian newspaper reported. Thousands were left without electricity in and around Portland, the state's most populous city.

In the northeastern United States, blizzard conditions and strong winds caused frequent whiteouts, with the weather service warning about "hazardous driving conditions" through Tuesday due to a snowstorm sweeping Lake Michigan to the Atlantic Coast.

Bitterly cold temperatures ranged from the single digits (from negative 17 to negative 12 Celsius) in the Midwest's northern plains and northern Rocky Mountains, to 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit (negative seven to one degree below zero Celsius) in the northwestern and northeastern parts of the country.

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