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A STORM system stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes has buffeted the central US with heavy snow, winds, rain and hail, forcing flight cancellations, creating treacherous road conditions and killing at least three people, including a sleeping twoyear-old girl.
In the Upper Midwest, the early spring storm brought snow to a region pining for sunshine and warmth.
Around 400 flights were canceled at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, which grounded all flights starting Saturday afternoon as heavy snow made it difficult to keep runways clear and planes deiced, while blizzard conditions forced the airport in South Dakota’s biggest city, Sioux Falls, to remain closed for a second straight day.
The Minnesota Twins home game against the Chicago White Sox was snowed out Saturday, marking the first back-to-back postponements of baseball games in the stadium’s nine seasons.
Yesterday’s game was also called off because of the storm, which by Saturday night had buried Minneapolis under more than 33cm of snow.
Authorities closed several highways in southwestern Minnesota, where no travel was advised, and driving conditions were difficult across the southern half of the state.
The National Weather Service predicted that a large swath of southern Minnesota, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, could get up to 51cm.
The storm was expected to persist overnight in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan before moving into New York state and New England.
Up to 46cm of snow had fallen by early Saturday in parts of northern Wisconsin, with another 36cm expected last night.
Winds of up to 88km/h caused blowing and drifting snow, along with ice shoves in Green Bay.
The National Weather Service also warned of potential coastal flooding along Lake Michigan in Wisconsin and Illinois, where Chicago residents were warned that waves could reach as high as 5.5m.
In Louisiana, winds downed a tree onto a mobile home in Haughton, killing a sleeping two-year-old girl inside.
In Wisconsin, a woman was killed when she lost control of the minivan she h was drivi driving on a slippery highway and struck an oncoming SUV near Lewiston.
On Friday, a truck driver from Idaho lost control of his rig on snow-covered Interstate 80 near Chappell in western Nebraska and slammed into a semi that had become stranded, according to the Nebraska State Patrol. He died at the scene.
In Arkansas, a tornado ripped through the tiny Ozark Mountain town of Mountainburg on Friday, injuring at least four people and causing widespread damage.