MONSTER SNOWSTORM TO BLANKET HALF OF US

The storm hit the US Rockies and plains on Friday and then punched east

■ 1,609 km corridor will come under storm hitting transportation in the middle of the country

■ The system started as rain from Mexico and turned to snow as it met icy air.

■ 45cm of snow expected in the

Sangre de

Cristo mountains south of Denver, as per the weather service

■ As the storm heads east, up to

41cm of snow likely in western Missouri and St Louis.

■ Areas to the east could get about

15cm of snow with ice developing in Kansas, and Arkansas

■ Up to 10cm of snow expected in Washington DC, before the system heads out to sea late on Sunday. ■ 1,431 flight cancellations reported on Friday and 12,465 delays as per FlightAware.com flight tracking site

■ Problems at snow-hit airports causes knock-on effects around US.

■ Storm will spare the heavily populated north-east

■ It may disrupt air and auto travel from Kansas City to Indianapolis, and bring the heaviest snowfall so far this winter to Cincinnati and Ohio river

The storm is expected to create havoc over the central part of the country, then extend eastward into the mid-Atlantic states

— RANDY ADKINS, AccuWeather meteorologist