Winter storm blows across US
2006-12-01 15:04
Kansas City - The first major snowstorm of the season blew across the central US, grounding hundreds of flights, closing schools, glazing highways and threatening to dump up to a foot of snow on communities that had basked in balmy weather only days earlier.
The wintry weather spread across an area stretching from Texas and Oklahoma to Michigan on Thursday, and a blizzard warning was posted in parts of Oklahoma.
The system roared through the Northwest and Rockies earlier in the week. Coming on the heels of near-record high temperatures, it rolled through Kansas on Wednesday, coating tree limbs and power lines with one centimetre of ice.
By Thursday, the storm was moving northeast from Oklahoma on the way to Illinois. It could reach the Northeast sometime this weekend.
Sleet, snow and freezing rain forced the cancellation of 250 flights out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Some schools were closed. In the Texas Panhandle, roads were covered with ice and up to 18cm of snow.
At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, more than 400 flights were cancelled for Friday, allowing customers more time to change their travel plans.
- AP