At least 34 people have died across the U.S. in the massive storm

Kala Smith of Buffalo, N.Y., heads for a food store Monday on Main Street, not far from where she lives, after a massive snowstorm blanketed the city.

Craig Ruttle / Craig Ruttle

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The deep freeze from a deadly winter storm that walloped much of the United States will continue into the week as people in western New York deal with massive snow drifts that snarled emergency vehicles and travelers across the country see canceled flights and dangerous roads.

The massive storm has killed at least 34 people across the U.S. and is expected to claim more lives after trapping some residents inside houses and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

The extreme weather stretched from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians.