President Barack Obama's motorcade drives through Kailua, Hawaii (AP)
The Obama are believed to be staying in a $3,500-a-night Asian-style villa - the same property they rented 2011 and 2012 - which has been dubbed the Winter White House.
Although the total bill for their stay - which Mr Obama pays out of his own pocket - would add up to $56,000 (EUR34,000) the total cost for security and redeploying the full panoply of a US administration to Hawaii for two weeks has been estimated at more than $1m.
As the family arrived in Kailua - meaning 'two seas' in Hawaiian, signifying the area's location between the ocean and a former fish pond lagoon - secret service officers had cordoned off the street, and could be seen patrolling in boats along a canal that runs close to the property.
The Luxury Hale Reena beachside estate in Kailua where the Obamas stayed last year and year before (David Dunham)
Local weather reported temperatures to be a balmy 79F (26C) as Mr Obama set off to play golf on Saturday at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, watched by a smattering of well-wishers taking pictures on their smartphones as his motorcade swept by.
But while Mr Obama teed off in a foursome comprising Bobby Titcomb an old school friend, Marvin Nicholson, one of the president's schedulers; and Sam Kass, a White House chef, in other parts of America weather stations issued warnings to batten down the hatches.
In the Deep South tornadoes and wind gusts ripped roofs from barns and hurled trees into power lines, leaving thousands without power and killing at least two people by Saturday evening.
The Luxury Hale Reena beachside estate in Kailua (David Dunham)
Local reports said one man died after his mobile home overturned in northern Mississippi and another was killed when his car hit a tree that had fallen across a county road in southeastern Mississippi.
Meanwhile, up north and across the Central Plains heavy snow and ice-storms caused chaos on the roads and brought powerlines crashing down under the weight of ice that accumulated to 2in thick in places. When dawn broke on Sunday morning nearly 100,000 homes were without power in upstate New York, Vermont and Maine.
Had Mr Obama stayed in Washington, however, he would have enjoyed unseasonably warm temperatures, with highs of 74F (23C) forecast for Sunday, although the warmth bought prolonged spells of rain.
Mr Obama is staying in Hawaii until January 5, although as president he will never be too far from work, receiving the daily presidential briefing and attending to urgent business.
On the first morning of his vacation, the White House said, the president had conducted a secure conference call with Susan Rice, his national security adviser, and other senior officials after four US soldiers were wounded when rebels in South Sudan fired on a US aircraft.
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