Huge ice sheets smash onto parked cars from apartment blocks as US endures ice storm cold snap

As ice storms sweep southern US states, Americans have had to cope with more than just freezing temperatures and travel problems.

Remarkable footage captured this weekend showed huge sheets of ice falling from buildings, crushing cars and battering trees.

The ice storm which swirled through Texas, Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas over the weekend led to a huge build-up of ice on apartment blocks and high-rise buildings.

In one video, large sheets of ice tumble from 40ft high blocks onto pavements below, smashing into cars and terrifying pedestrians.

Another amateur video captures the moment an enormous ice sheet falls five storeys onto a car in Plano, Texas.

Southern states saw up to eight inches of snow over the weekend, with hundreds of flights disrupted and power outages across large parts of the affected states.

In Texas, the Dallas-Forth Worth area was hit particularly hard - with trees felled and chaotic road conditions as a result of the storm.

There were ice storm warnings in effect in Western Tennessee, while a state of emergency was declared in the western and middle parts of the Volunteer State.

On Sunday the storm pushed into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast areas, leading to rain, sleet and snow in parts of Washington D.C. and New York.

MORE PICTURES OF THE US-WIDE ICE STORM COLD SNAP: