AT least two people have died as winter storm Izzy continues to wreak havoc across the East Coast.

More than 50million Americans are under winter weather alerts and motorists have been warned to not travel as up to 10 inches of snow was dumped in North Carolina.

Freezing rain hit Durham and Raleigh on Sunday as temperatures plunged to bitter lows of 25F.

Meanwhile, in Greenville, South Carolina, the temperature hovered around 27-30F.

Latron K Williams and Katie Jo Brainard, of Myrtle Beach, were killed on i-95 when a blue Honda CRV went off the road and hit trees in Raleigh, WPDE reports.

According to the state highway patrol, the preliminary cause of the crash was “exceeding safe speed for the conditions”.

And at the time of the incident, troopers said the weather was a “mixture of wintry precipitation”.

A tractor-trailer slid off the Highway 147 bridge in Durham as drivers struggled to navigate the tricky conditions.

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The cab appeared to land up-right while the trailer leaned onto the road, WRAL reported.

The driver of the truck was on his way to an Amazon plant. He was taken to hospital and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

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Gov Roy Cooper warned motorists: “The best way to avoid a car accident or getting stranded is to stay put.

“If you must travel, reduce your speed, increase your following distance and be sure to clear all the snow and ice off your vehicle.”

Meanwhile, WRAL meteorologist Brian Shrader said: “The best advice I can give you is just to stay home if at all possible and wait this one out.”

In Virginia, state police responded to around 1,000 traffic crashes and disabled vehicles on Sunday.

More than 130,000 people in Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania were without power as maintenance workers frantically work to restore supply.

Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia, warned drivers about the potential for black ice.

He tweeted Sunday: “It’s going to be very treacherous in a lot of parts of our state.

“Also the potential for downed power lines is very high right now. So the less traffic we have on the roads the easiest it is for our partners to clear the roads and restore power.”

TRAVEL CHAOS

Around 60,000 people were without power in the Carolinas alone.

Thousands of flights were canceled by 6am ET, leaving travelers stranded.

More than 400 flights at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina have been axed on Monday, according to WSOC.

On Sunday, more than 3,000 flights in and out of the US were canceled, while 4,656 were delayed, according to Flight Aware.

Around a foot of snow is forecast for parts of New England, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania up until Tuesday.

CNN meteorologist Michael Guy warned that eight-12 inches of the white stuff could fall in Pittsburgh and New York.

But, some coastal cities in Virginia and Maine could be battered by coastal flooding, with up to 65mph gusts expected.

Guy revealed that temperatures will be below freezing until Wednesday at the very least across large swathes of the country because of a polar arctic plunge.

States have already activated the National Guard as they prepare their response against the frigid conditions.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said: We’ve done a really good job being prepared for this storm.

“We think with the way this weather pattern is working where it’s snowing first, The temperature of all the highways has come up so we feel really good about that.”

He said that officials will keep a “close eye” on the conditions on I-95 – weeks after drivers were stranded for at least 15 hours as a snowbomb ripped through the state.

WILD WEATHER

Senator Tim Kaine said he has been stuck on the interstate for 19 hours while heading to Washington DC.

Some were left without heat as they had to turn off their car engines to save fuel, WTOP reports.

One person told the outlet that they had been stuck on the interstate with their three kids, including a baby.

Another said he had been stuck in traffic on the interstate for two-and-a-half hours, fearing he would miss his dad's funeral.

The wild weather also battered Florida as the southwest of the Sunshine State was pummelled by tornadoes.

More than two dozen homes were gutted in Lee County and thousands were left without power.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service said the twister was on the ground for almost two miles.

Edward Murray, 81, was in his mobile home when the tornado tossed it on top of a neighbor’s property.

He told The Naples Daily News: “That’s my house that’s turned upside down. “The tornado took me off my feet, blew me toward the east wall, and buried me under the sink, refrigerator, kitchen chairs, and everything else.”

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