Massive storms, heavy blizzards tear across Midwest

Fort Wayne: A fierce storm ripped across the Midwest on Wednesday, stranding travellers, closing hundreds of schools and cutting off power to thousands of people across the country's heartland.

The National Weather Service warned residents in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan of "extremely dangerous blizzard conditions" with near-whiteout driving conditions.

"This is a very big and very fast-moving storm," said Jack Hales, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service's storm prediction centre in Norman, Oklahoma.

The storm system also engulfed parts of New England on Wednesday, cutting off power to 14,000 customers in Vermont and blanketing the region in snow, ice and rain.

Twelve people have been killed in the storm, most in traffic accidents, according to the media.

As the storm continued eastward, forecasters predicted that it could bring winds of 96 kilometres per hour or more to the coast of Maine and up to 91 centimetres of snow to parts of New York.

Ferocious winds

Madison, Wisconsin, saw the greatest snowfall in the Midwest region, with 43 centimetres of snow this week and drifts as high as 4.5 metres. Similar snowy mounds blanketed much of Wisconsin, , Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

Adding to these weather woes were ferocious winds and sub-freezing temperatures. In Iowa, where the wind gusts reached 80 kilometres per hour, the wind chill dropped to as low as minus 30 degrees in the northern part of the state.

The storm led to treacherous road conditions, prompting the Iowa National Guard to roll out Humvees and nearly four dozen guardsmen to help the state Highway Patrol haul more than 200 motorists out of roadside ditches and empty corn fields.

"This storm is a minute-by-minute event," said Courtney Greene, spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

"We're telling people, if you don't have to go to work, don't. Being on the road is putting other people and yourself at risk."

At least 200 flights were cancelled at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and hundreds more were delayed for hours. That caused a ripple effect that forced passengers in sunny south Florida to wait through lengthy delays.

"This storm system is affecting the whole country, in one way or the other," Hales said. Across the Chicago area, residents slogged through lengthy commutes and slippery roads. Amy Kaspar, a motivational speaker, left a meeting near O'Hare at 3pm in order to make a 7.30pm hockey game across town — a drive that normally would take her less than an hour. When she walked outside, the roads were covered in a blanket of icy sludge. But the Chicago native was prepared.

"I carry a shovel in my car, because when I spend long periods of time indoors, there's a good chance when I go outside I'll have to dig my car out," said Kaspar, 34.

In Minnesota, truck stops and gas stations were packed with idling semi-trucks and frustrated drivers after state officials advised a halt to all travel through the south.