Angela Fritz

The sled dogs in Billings, Montana, lost their owner when the sled tipped and she fell off.

The cost is down from 2017, when several major hurricanes made landfall in the US, but the total is still significant and in line with the increasing trend in disaster losses.

Blizzard watches are in effect for every major city from Washington to New York. The storm surge could reach 5 feet on the Mid-Atlantic coast.

A powerful winter cyclone -- the same storm that lead to two tornado outbreaks in the United States and disastrous river flooding -- has driven the North Pole to the freezing point this week, 50 degrees above average for this time of year.